Day trip to Gloucester and New Kent County

Warner Hall and St. Peters Church were the #1 destinations on my ancestry bucket list. My friend Laura also wanted to visit Gloucester and discover the places where her ancestors lived and were buried. So we decided to combine our visits and take a day trip together. It was a great day! The weather was beautiful, and though we only had time to hit the highlights of such a broad tour in one day, we accomplished a lot toward our research.

Laura's ancestors go deep into Virginia history. Her father's family, the Seawells, are a well-known name in Gloucester.  We found Seawell's Ordinary (or Seawell's Publick House), Seawell Ave, and the town of Ordinary. Her ancestors certainly mingled socially with my ancestors, the Warners, of nearby Warner Hall.  George Washington stopped by Seawell's Ordinary when he visited his grandparents at Warner Hall.

Seawells Ordinary - it is said that
Geo. Washington and Lafayette planned
their attack on Cornwall here in the tavern room.

Next stop was Abingdon Church Cemetery, where we met a delightful lady who helped us with tips and directions. This lady was talking with a tall, skinny fellow named Jimmy (who looked just like my friend Jimmy Harris) who told us proudly that he was a two-time pancreas cancer survivor. Such characters added so much color to our travels!

Laura's direct ancestors were buried in the beautiful and very old Abingdon Church Cemetery.

Abingdon Church

A singe butterfly appeared to guide us
everywhere we went.

I had also read that some of Laura's ancestors were buried at Ware Church Cemetery just down the road. The church was beautiful and old, just like Abingdon Church, but the Cemetery was much larger. We split up and walked around the cemetery looking at names until we lost sight of each other. I finally got in the car and drove around looking at names on gravestones from the car window. After about 45 minutes or so, we were about to give up. We decided to go into the rectory to ask for assistance. The young assistant rector was at work at his desk, but he stopped what he was doing to help us. He copy/pasted a list of the Seawells, and then add a map of the churchyard showing where they were buried. Then he joined us in our search!

At Ware Church Cemetery

Off to Warner Hall... miles of country road into the middle of nowhere. We finally came upon the white rail fence and entrance gate. It was just breathtaking and so grand! No one else in sight.

Entering the drive up to Warner Hall.

The Inn at Warner Hall.

A girl at the desk said that we could look around wherever we wanted. We explored some of the rooms inside the house, and then went out through the sunroom to the graveyard. There in this quiet, peaceful place were the graves of George Washington's grandparents and my ancestors - Augustine and Mildred Reade Warner, and John and Elizabeth Warner Lewis.

Standing at the foot of Augustine Warner's grave. He is George Washington's grandfather,
and also the ancestor of Queen Elizabeth of England. She calls Warner Hall her American home.

Next stop St. Peter's Church in New Kent County.  I was hoping to find graves of my Allen and Lewis ancestors, but had made no appointment for an official tour. At the very least, I wanted to see the church in a new light, since finding out that my ancestors are on the church registry there.  We did not find Allen or Lewis graves, but did find a memorial to the Bacon and Lydal families who were later connected with the Allens.

I am standing in front of St. Peters Church, New Kent County

"This stone witnesseth to the lives of good upright people identified with St. Peter's Parish for more than 125 years from its foundation in 1684. Col. George Lydal died 1705, Capt. Edmund Bacon and his wife Ann Lydal, John Bacon and his wife Susanna Parke, Samuel Bugg and his wife Sarah Bacon, Sherwood Bugg born July 8, 1720."

St. Peters Church is still an active place of worship; however, the feeling of history is rich. It is said that George and Martha Washington were married here.

St Peters was used as a camp during the Civil War.

We ended our journey by visiting with actual LIVING relatives! My Old Church cousins were mostly all home, along with dogs and horse and goat.

Cousin Barry and Bully

Inn at Warner Hall, Gloucester, Virginia

We are descendants of the Lewis's and Warners who owned Warner Hall until the 1830's.  Our first ancestor on this soil was Augustine Warner I, who came to Jamestown in 1642. (Augustine was also George Washington's great-grandfather - there is also a connection to Thomas Jefferson's family). Augustine built the original house at Warner Hall.

I have written about this in a previous blog entry, but I thought it would be good to include a link to the history of Warner Hall.

Here is an excerpt:

Elizabeth, the third daughter of Augustine Warner II, became the wife of John Lewis and inherited Warner Hall. Their son, John Lewis II (1702-1754) was a member of His Majesty’s Council, and was prominent in Gloucester County. The Lewis Family occupied Warner Hall for generations and members of the family immigrated to all parts of the United States. Lewis family descendants built a number of important Virginia homes including Belle Farm, Eagle Point, Abingdon and Severn Hall. Colonel Fielding Lewis of Belle Farm, was the grandson of Elizabeth and John Lewis. Col. Lewis was married twice, first to Catherine Washington, and after her death, to Elizabeth (Betty) Washington, sister of George. One of Fredericksburg’s most beautiful and historic homes, Kenmore, was built by Fielding Lewis for his wife Betty.   

http://www.warnerhall.com/words-from-our-innkeepers/warner-hall-a-brief-history/

Warner Hall Plantation, est. 1642 - “Austin’s Desire”

One of my proven ancestors through the DNA test is Elizabeth Warner, 1672-1720. Elizabeth married John Taliaferro Lewis, my 7th great grandfather.

Here is the lineage from my maternal grandmother back (*proven through DNA):

Teresa/Ethelyn Allen, 1893-1966 (b. Illinois)

Augustus Allen, 1859- ? (b. Illinois)

Robert Scott Allen, 1797-1864 (b. Virginia)

?John Watson Allen, ? - ? (b. Virginia)

?Turner Allen, 1751 - 1800 (b. Virginia)

Mary Carr Lewis, 1725 - 1778 (b. Virginia; m. William Carr Allen)

*Charles Lilburne Lewis, 1696 - 1779 (b. Virginia)

*Elizabeth Warner, 1672 - 1720 (b. Virginia; m. *Col. John Taliaferro Lewis, 

"one of His Majesty's Honorable Council for this Colony")

Elizabeth inherited Warner Hall, at the head of the Severn River in Gloucester County, today recognized as one of the premier historic homes in Virginia:

Referred to as “Austin’s Desire” in the 1642-land patent, the original six hundred-acre plantation site was established by Augustine Warner as a “land grant” from the British Crown. Augustine Warner received the acreage in exchange for bringing twelve settlers across the Atlantic Ocean to the Jamestown Settlement, a colony desperately in need of manpower to survive in the New World.

"The Lewis family occupied Warner Hall for generations and members of the family immigrated to all parts of the United States."  (A Brief History of Warner Hall Plantation).  In 1740, the original part of the home burned down and was rebuilt on the same foundation.  The plantation remained in the Lewis family until the 1830's.  In 1849, the center part of the home was again destroyed by fire, and the owners built the current frame house on the same foundation with the same floor plan.

The Warners and the Lewis's were among the most prominent families in Virginia. Warner Hall played a significant part in Bacon's Rebellion.  Elizabeth Warner's sister Mildred married Lawrence Washington, and their son Augustine married Mary Ball, who became the mother of George Washington.

Some of the most recognized names in American history are direct descendants of Warner Hall’s founder, Augustine Warner – George Washington, the first president of the United States, Robert E. Lee, the most famous Civil War General and Captain Meriwether Lewis, renowned American explorer of the Lewis and Clark expedition. 

George Washington was a frequent visitor to his grandparent’s plantation. 

Queen Elizabeth II, the current monarch of England, is also a direct descendent of Augustine Warner. In England, Warner Hall is referred to as “the home of the Queen’s American ancestors.”  (A Brief History of Warner Hall Plantation)

Warner Hall and the Warner-Lewis family graveyard.  Elizabeth Warner's inscriptions reads:  "Here Lyeth Interr'd ye Body of Elizabeth Lewis the Daughter of Col Augustine Warner and Mildred his Wife and late wife of John Lewis Esq. She was Born at Chesake the 24th of November, 1672 Aged 47 years 2 Months and 12 Days, and was a Tender Mother of 14 Children. She Departed this Life the 5th Day of February 1719/20."

The Inn at Warner Hall is hosting a family reunion event this year through October 29:  "Descendants of the Warner, Lewis and Washington families are invited to visit Warner Hall to connect more deeply to their historical roots during this special family reunion promotion."  "Descendants are invited to the Inn at Warner Hall’s “All In The Family” reunion, a promotion to help get as many descendants to visit the property as possibly, likely uniting cousins who have never met."  The event will benefit the Warner Hall Graveyard preservation fund.