Newsletter 2 1978.pdf - The Grayson Family

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Page 101
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Page 101
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. CRAVE. Froni A19 Virginians during the debatr
1 Ihc way to the other end ol the
On the
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sti,tr to do it." Grayson ratify it that the new con- CONGRESSIONAI; BIOG&TIES
.(lounlv touclles ~ ~ slitution ~ t ~.ould h ma,ke the
(EXCERPTS)
,li,rolil,a iII,d ynlnessc. in North the dominant power in
hivest Virginia.
the Union.
;tysol~\ras borrl ill 1736 on Folln\\illg its approval,
Ik,llp rslnlc \,.here Virginia chose both Grayson CRAYSOS, N'illiarn (father of William John Grayson and
Fisllcr lives ,,.ith his ~rnd Lee as its first senators. uncle of Alexander Dalryn~ple Orr), a Delc~nte and a Senator
IaIlli~y, (;r;lySoll la!,. Suhwquent fcdernl actions, from Virginia; born in Prince IVilliam County, Va., in 1740;
f)llnlf,.ic,s in 1774 \vtlich (;rayson fell supported attended the Uciversitv of Pennsylvnnia at Yhi1;rdclphis; pur-
. fommd a l,,i\iti;r group his enrlicr fears. led him to
aged dassic31 studies in England, and was graduated fronl the
I,rincc \villialn, 1 1 ~ later ivritc Patrick Henry that the
University of Oxiord; studicd law at the Tcmplc in Londo~~; resrr\.c,d
as nlil,tnry aidc lo So~~lh was now desti~led to
"tlrc milch COW of the
turned to Virginia and practiced law in D~tmfrics; during the
\\'nshin~t:ton.
, '.l,atcr he serwd in the Unidn." Revolutionary ]Tar n . appointed ~ aide-de-carnp to General
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I'ontinnll;~l Congress. C;ntyson was the third child Washington August 24, 1776; cornn~i.;~ioned colonel oi a Virginia
,,cc,,rtlillg to a locally of Bvl~jafrnin Grayson and , regiment January 1, 1777; distinguished himself at the nnttle of .
prndusccd history of Princ.11 - hfonmouth in 1778; menlbcr of the board of war in 1iSO and 1731;
f \Yilli;ln~ County, Gravson was
Mcmbcr of the Contincrrtal Congress ITS-1-1787; dc!egste to thr:
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. Illc a- Susma Monroe, the aunt of Virginia co~lve:;tiork of 1783 for the aJoptiorr of the Fzdcral Conprohjl)it
ing slavery in the J"~s RIonroe. HC married stitution, which he opposed; elected to the United States Sennte
~ ~ ~ l l Territories , , ~ ~ ~ th;, t t Eleanor Small~vood, sister of
and served from $!arch -1, 1760, until his death in Dunrfrics, Va.,
i. was drsipncd as n cnncession Thonlas friend
! William Smallwood. hlarch 12, 1790; interment on tile old faniily estate at Belle Air,
lo Snrtllern sentiment.
, near Durnfries, Va.
,rl1i1 is discounlctl . ' I-)escribed as skilled in
~ ~ ~ I)ictionary i l of , debate. ~ ~ he \vas ~ said ~ to ~ have
.' American Biography. \vhic.h e~~t'lld "in fascinating GRAYSON, William John (son of Wil,iam Grayson and cousin
rl:lims that qrayson only manners. in humor, in wit" of Alexander Dnlrvmple Orr), a Representative from South
approveti of Ihc clause. and "in an almost unrivalled Carolina; born in Rcsufort, S. C., November 2. 1785; pursued
I . (;r.;lxsnll :~pparcntly was not play of tile intellectual classical studics, and was grnduntcd frorn South Carolinn Col!cge
; n~otiv;rtctl by antislavery ; poivers." at Columbia in 1809; studied Ixw; \\-as admitted to the bar in
; f,y,l,ng in \,,hatevc,.;tction he lie died xt Dumfrics during
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look. tic irl'ole lo james ' the second session of 1822 and cornrnenced practice in fieaufort, S. C.; n~rrnber of the
State house of reprcsentativcs 1822--126; served ir: tkc State
hlo,lroc>, :3 fc~~o\v Virginian. (:o"grC".
. tllat tlo to it 10 prevent "He was a relatively major
senatc 182G-15331; elected cornnrisainncr ill equity for Bcariiort
.. ..tol,asco al,d illdigo from figure in Virginia history." District in 1631 and reeignctl from the sen~tc; clcctcd as n hi^
on north5vest mid 1)r. tlenry \Yard, a , to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congrcsscs (Jlnrct~ 4,
Ohio" and for 1833-hfarch 3, 1837); collector of customs at Ch~rlcston
E l from
\,era1 other political of Richmond August 9, 16-11, to hrch 10, 1S53; retired to his plarltation; was
Tobacco and indigo
a frequent contributor to the Southern Qu~rterly Review; died in
historian.
have a
I were crops grown almost probleln, because Newberry, S. C., on October 4, 1663; internlent in Jlagnolia
esclusively in the South and
con,parPti to Wasllington and Ce~nctcry, Charleston, S. C.
much of their cultivation
Jefferson (both
. tlcpndcd upon sl;rve labor.
all
the rest seem like secondary
Crityson, along with l.igurcs,q
liiohard Ilenry I,cc, the great
Grayson was buried on a
~randfotllcr of Rolxrt E. Lee,
Tracking down your ancestors
hillside overlooking the
'constilulion. Grayson told .A branch of the firm that publishes the British
. are single-family
homes, and the gravesite sits peerage guide has gone into the business of deon
about 4 acres of land owned signing tours for Americans who want to seek out
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by the Fishers-all that is left their family origins. So far its services cover
of. the original 400-acres-plus
plantation.
England, all the West
The county has agreed to European countries and
I pay for the rcstoraation, but
most of Eastern Europe.
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.. I The individually taionljr
on ihe condition that the lored ancestry tours can
I public is granted some form of include genealogical
access to Fisher's land, ac-
tracings, visits to family
cording to counl y officials.
"You just can't go invading
localities and sites, and
private property," said Mrs.
briefings by local his-
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Kinscg. "That's certainly not
+ torians. For more inforwhat
the counly a.an1.s to do."
She said that if IJisher rejects mation write to Debrett Ancestry Service, 67
the county's restoration Parchment St., Winchester SO23 8AT, England, or
I proposal the hislorical groups to Fourways Travel Limited, 950 Third Ave.,
probably will try to build the . New York, N.Y. 10022.
memorial to Crayson
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elsewhere.
"It's sad that it's taken this I
long lor anyone to get in-
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terested in protecting, thr
grave," said Nrs. Kinsey.
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