Volume 15 , Issue 15

Calfpasture Families of Bath & Highland County, Virginia

From the "Annals of Bath County, Virginia," by Oren Frederic Morton, on page 169, mentions the Calfpasture families and their prominent part in settling the valleys of Bath and Highland counties. Afterward those of Greenbrier and Pocahontas, helped to people the uplands of the Carolinas.

The Calfpasture families were prompt to taking a share int eh settling of Kentucky. In 1779, Captain James Gay and Alexander Dunlap, Jr., headed a party which settled in the bluegrass region of the state and founded Pisgah church, said to be the first presbyterian organization in Kentucky. The school which grew up by the side of the church developed into Transylvania University.

One of our ancestors, Captain James Gay, was twenty-one years old when he turned westward, and had served under Andrew Lockridge. Captain Gay's second wife was Elizabeth, a daughter of John Dunlap. Gay was himself a son of James Gay, who married Jean Warwick.

Alexander Dunlap, Jr., married James Gay's sister, Agnes. Major Samuel Stevenson, whose mother was a daughter of John Warwick, was a third member of the emigrating party, and he also wedded a Gay. Thus the Gays, Dunlaps, and Stevensons, as well as the Hamiltons, Kinkeads, Warwicks, and other Calfpasture families, have gained both affluence and prominence int he Bluegrass State and other commonwealths of the Great West. A Warwick gave his name in a changed spelling to Warrick County, Indiana. Lieutenant-Governor Walkup, of California, was a descendant of Captain John Walkup, who came to the Calfpasture about 1760.

On page 163 of this same book we found the mention of of the Point Pleasant campaign, where Sampson Mathews and charge of the commissary department of the army under Lewis. Sampson Mathews was a Colonel of militia and saw active service in the war for American Independence. In July, 1781, Col. Mathews was quelling the Tory organization of William Ward in Pendleton. A little later he was leading his regiment in the Yorktown campaign. In the preceding year he was a member of the State Senate. He favored the formation of Bath and took an active part in its organization. Col. Mathews died in Augusta in 1807 at the age of about seventy. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1759, was Mary, a sister to his partner, Jacob Lockhart. Other sisters were the wives of Matthew Arbuckle and William Ward of Greenbrier. The last wife was Mary, a daughter of Jacob Warwick. Mathews's sons identified themselves with Greenbrier county.

On page 202 of that same book, we find mention of another ancestor on the Warwick side of the family, William Warwick and Elizabeth Dunlap. It mentions that William Warwick came from Williamsburg and married Elizabeth Dunlap. His sons were Charles and John. The latter (John) was a scout in the Indian war and went to Kentucky in 1789. Captain Jacob Warrick, a son, was killed at Tippecanoe, and Warrick County, in Indiana, is named for him. General Harrison complimented his company by saying he had never seen a finer body of men. Major Jacob Warwick owned for a while the Fort Dinwiddie farm. He moved to Pocahontas about 1800. Three sons-in-law were Charles E. Cameron, Sampson Mathews, and William Gatewood.

Battle of Green Spring

As to those who took part in the Battle of green Spring, we find on page 96, of the same book, "Annals of Bath County, Virginia," another mention of our ancestor, Capt. David Gwin (my grandmother, in 1925 did research on for her D.A.R. certificate), and that McCreery and Mathews were in the the battle, which took place near Jamestown, July 6th. Under McCreery were the horsemen of Captain Peter Hull (another ancestor on the Hull side of the family). Under Mathews were Captains David Gwin, Thomas Hicklin, William Kincaid, and John Brown. Brown was taken prisoner and was succeeded by Charles Cameron, who had served as adjutant. Brown's lieutenant was Robert Thompson. Gwin's subalterns were Lieutenant William McCreery and Ensign Alexander Wright.

Battle of Guilford

On page 95 of this book we find mention of some of our Gwin ancestors that took part in the Battle of Guilford. What was mentioned was: "Arnold's marauding career on the lower James, and the approach of Cornwallis in the spring of 1781 were far more serious. than the Dunmore war. Nearly 1700 of the Virginia militia took part in the battle of Guilford, where their conduct was unusually good, owing to a stiffening in their companies of some experienced men who had seen service in Washington's army. Among these troops were militiamen from Bath county under Robert McCreery, John Bollar, and David Gwin. Gwin's men, and probably the other commands, rode on horseback until they had crossed the Can into North Carolina. The horses were then sent home under guard. Robert Sitlington, William Gillespie, and James Sloan were privates under McCreery. Sitlington grieved at the loss of the knife he had used as a gun-rest. "Bullets," he said, "were flying so thick that by god, sir, I had to leave that knife sticking where it was."

At Guilford the Virginia militia gave a good account of themselves. Their deadly rifle-fire repelled several assaults by the redcoats. Cornwallis was virtually defeated and his shattered army was driven to the sea coast. he gave up his attempt to subdue North Carolina and joined Arnold at Petersburg. While the British leader was pursuing the small American army under Lafayette, his cavalry under Tarleton burned the little village of Charlottesville, where the Assembly was in session. The legislature fled to Staunton, and sat there from June 7th to June 23rd. But Tarleton remembered his overthrow at Cowpens and did not try to force his way through Rockfish Gap. He seemed to have had a wholesome respect for the Scotch-Irish militia of the Valley. The whole British army presently fell back toward the coast.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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