Newspaper Tidbits

Alexandria Herald – 21 August 1815

I will rent, for the ensuing year, the FARM adjacent to the town of Dumfries, the late residence of John Macrae, deceased, generally known by the name of ORANGEFIELD.  The farm comprises 200 acres, a large proportion of which is arable land.  The improvements on it are an excellent dwelling house, dairy, stable, & c. with a good orchard.  The tenant will have the privilege of sowing wheat the next Autumn.

JOHN MACRAE

Dumfries, Aug. 18.

Frederick Herald - 15 September 1832

100 REWARD.  Ranaway from the subscriber, living near Haymarket, Va., on Saturday night 1^st of September, a Negro man named DICK, purchased a few days since of Mr. R. Foster, of Prince William county. 

Dick is about 21 years old, about 5 feet 9 inches high, tolerably heavy built, and well proportioned – of dark copper or chestnut color.  He wore away a dark round jacket, yellow jean pantaloons, and fur hat half worn.  He has just been brought from Pennsylvania, and no doubt attempting to go back.

I will give the above reward if taken in the state of Pennsylvania, fifty dollars if taken in Maryland, and twenty five if taken in Virginia, and secured in any jail until I get him again.

PEYTON NORVELL

September 15.

Newspaper Tidbit: Conservative Meeting

Alexandria Gazette

1/7/1868

CONSERVATIVE MEETING.—At a meeting held in Brentsville, Prince William county, Va., on Monday, January 6, 1868, C. W. C. Dunnington, Esq., was called to the Chair, and Dr. Carter Berkeley appointed Secretary.

The Chairman explained the object of the meeting to be to organize the Conservative party of the county, in accordance with the recommendation of the State Executive Committee.

On motion of Col. Nicol, the Chair appointed Messrs. Allen Howison, Lawrence Cole, Crawford Cushing, and John Hammill a committee to report suitable persons as committees of the four magisterial districts.

After consultation, the committee reported the following names, to wit:

Dist. No. 1 – Edwin Nelson and Dr. M. B. Weedon.

Dist. No. 2 – Dr. M. Ish and Colonel Basil Brawner.

Dist. No. 3 – F. A. Weedon and William Bryan.

Dist. No. 4 – Capt. J. E. Herrell, and Col. Edmund Berkeley.

On motion, it was, Resolved, That the committee have power to fill any vacancies which may occur in their body.  The proceedings were ordered to be published in the Alexandria Gazette and Richmond Enquirer.  The meeting then adjourned.

150th Commemoration of First Battle of Manassas

Hot Day for History at Battlefield

Newspaper Tidbits

Richmond Times Dispatch – January 19, 1911

WANTED, DOCTOR: A GOOD LOCATION at Brentsville, Va.  Also merchant for this town; dwelling house and storeroom combined; for sale or rent.  Inquire of DR. W. J. BELL, Bristow, VA.

Richmond Times Dispatch – April 7, 1908

CAPTAIN W. F. WILLIAMS. – Bristol, VA, April 6.  Captain W. F. Williams, sixty-six years old, a native of Brentsville, Prince William county, VA, died here to-night of pneumonia.  He was captain of Company A, Fourth Virginia Regiment of the Confederate army.  For many years he was prominently connected with the railroads here.  Two sons and three daughters survive.  His only surviving sister, Mrs. Somerville, resides at Manassas.

Richmond Times Dispatch – November 5, 1916

APPOINTED DEPUTY SHERIFF. MANASSAS, VA., November 4. Judge J. B. T. Thornton has appointed J. P. Kerlin of Nokesville, deputy sheriff of Prince William County.  Mr. Kerlin was selected by Charles A. Barbee, sheriff, to succeed the late John M. Hooe.  McDuff Green, of Aden, has been appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Kerlin's resignation as supervisor from the Brentsville District.

Daily National Intelligencer – July 14, 1825

BRENTSVILLE, VA., JULY 8, 1825 – Joseph Bergess, who was sentenced to be hanged, by the Superior Court of Law for Prince William county, held in October last, for the murder of Charles Gollyhorn, was executed near Brentsville, this day, in presence of a large number of spectators, who had assembled to witness the scene.

Pittsfield Sun – July 4, 1867

The death is announced near Brentsville, Prince William County, Va., of Wm. Washington, aged 74 years, nephew of Col. Washington of the Revolutionary army, and third cousin of Gen. George Washington.  His brother, Col. Henry Washington, of the District of Columbia, survives.  The deceased served with distinction throughout the war of 1812.

Alexandria Gazette – May 22, 1832

DIED, Wednesday last, at Brentsville, Prince William County Va., Philip D. Dawe, Esq., Clerk of Pr. Wm. County Court, aged 50 years.

Newspaper Tidbit

Manassas Journal
January 8, 1915

PLEAD WITH SUFFRAGISTS. Mrs. C. E. Nicol and her daughters, the Misses Fanny Julia and Marie L. Nicol, were numbered among the 100 democratic women, many of them voters, who visited the White House Wednesday to try again to persuade President Wilson to support the constitutional amendment for nation-wide woman's suffrage. The President told the women he admired greatly their skill and tenacity in the campaign, but he added that he was opposed to granting women suffrage through federal action.

Newspaper Tidbit

Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, PA)
October 31, 1859

Some Gipseys recently, who had been loitering about the house of Mr. Thomas Holmes, near Brentsville, Prince William county (Va.) it is said, persuaded him to look into the case of a watch in which was chloroform, and, whilst he was laboring under the effects of the inhalation, took from him the key of his bureau and stole therefrom a thousand dollars in gold, with which they decamped.

Newspaper Tidbit

Alexandria Gazette
January 12, 1903

Four Virginia physicians, one from Alexandria and the other three from near there, have just been appointed assistant surgeons to serve in the navy for three years.  They are Dr. Julian T. Miller, of Alexandria; Dr. Walter H. Janney, of Occoquan; Dr. Harry W. Judd, of Culpeper, and Dr. Walter P. Keene, of Brentsville.  All of them passed excellent examinations and all of them were highly recommended by Congressman Rixey, of the Eighth district.

Another Newspaper Tidbit

The Commoner (Lincoln, Nebraska)
March 27, 1903

TWO FLINT LOCK PISTOLS WHICH WERE owned by George Washington are the subject of a dispute as to ownership and incidentally to the settlement of an estate in Prince William county, Virginia.  A writer in the Kansas City Journal says that the weapons, which are a perfectly matched pair, are in the possession of Miss Monnie Marsteller, who lives in Washington.  Some time before his death, General Washington gave the pistols to Mr. Dandridge, hsi secretary, and when Mr. Dandridge died, they were disposed of at public sale with the rest of his effects, under the direction of Bushrod Washington.  The grandfather of Miss Marsteller bought the weapons , and in due time he left them to his son, Samuel A. Marsteller, of Prince William county, Virginia.  Samuel was the father of Miss Monnie, and when he died, a short time ago, one of her brothers brought the pistols to her and said that she should have them.  Other relatives, however, have insisted upon forcing a sale of the property left behind by Samuel, and a suit, with this end in view, has been brought in the circuit court of Prince William county.

Newspaper Tidbit

 The (Richmond) Times
August 24, 1890

Alexandria, Va, Aug. 23 - [special] - Invitations were out for a wedding to take place in Prince William county to-morrow, the contracting parties being Mr. Gummy Cole and Miss Addie Holmes, who have been considered engaged for a long time.  But of late Miss Addie has been accepting the attentions of a certain old widower, but nothing serious was thought of it until one night recently, when the couple were seen going towards Bakersville to take the train for Washington.  When passing out of the house Miss Holmes said she was merely going out in the yard, and her mother had no suspicion aroused until several days had elapsed.  The couple are now Mr. and Mrs. Halsey Reid.  The bride is of seventeen summers, while the groom has two children already.  Late advices from Manassas say that they have not returned from their honeymoon yet.

Newspaper Tidbit: 45 Years After

The Free Lance. - Fredericksburg, VA
March 17, 1910

45 YEARS AFTER

Three companies of Mosby's men, under Capt. Baylor, were engaged in a fight in Fairfax, near Reynolds Cross Roads, two days after Lee's surrender.  In this fight were W. B. Lynn, W. N. Tansill and E. D. Cole.  After the fight was over Messrs. Tansill and Cole were missing and Lynn reported both of them killed or captured.  On Saturday, 45 years afterwards, Lynn wrote here and obtained the signatures of Cole and Tansill to his application for a Confederate pension.

We knew Mr. Tansill was a good sleeper, but did not know he had ever been reported as gone to his long sleep.

Newspaper: Gen. Mahone and the Ex-Confederates

Shenandoah Herald
May 17, 1882

GEN. MAHONE AND THE EX-CONFEDERATES -- Major Robert Tansill, of Prince William county, Va., formerly an officer in the Federal army and afterward a colonel in the Confederate service, and who during the recent campaign in Virginia, was a pronounced readjuster, has written a letter in which he severely arrains Senator Mahone for his recent vote, the effect of which is to prevent ex-Confederate soldiers from holding commissions in U.S. army and navy. 

Major Tansill declares that Senator Mahone by his vote "exhibited a degree and kind of political ingratitude and wrong which equals if it does not transcend any to be found in the history of our fallen race.  This strange and cruel act is fatal, as it ought to be, to Gen. Mahone's political prosepcts, so far as Virginia is concerned, unless the people of the State have unfortunately degenerated so as to be capable of the degredation of imitating the servile nature and example of the dog, in licking the hand that smites and degrades them."  Before concluding Major Tansill declares that "no imaginable excuse can be advanced for Gen. Mahone's unnatural and detestable treachery to his old friends and companions in arms."


(NOTE:  Per Wikipedia, in the post-Civil War years, William Mahone "helped form and lead a coalition of blacks, Republicans, and Conservative Democrats that became known as the Readjuster Party, so-named for a position regarding Virginia's troublesome post-War public debt issues.")

Newspaper: Will of Margharetha A. Endres

Washington Post
August 27, 1902 - pg. 10

The will of Margharetha Amalia Endres, bearing date of March 24, 1902, was filed for probate yesterday.  It provides that a farm owned by the testatrix in Prince William County, Va., and her personal property are to be divided equally between her sister, Clara M. Kress; her brother, Stephen J. A. Hartbrecht, and the following heirs of a sister who is dead:  Stephen J. Kubel, Ernest Kubel, Josephine Taylor, and Clara Kubel.  Stephen J. Kubel is named as the executor.

Newspaper Advertisement

The Washington Herald
October 10, 1907 - pg. 10

FARM FOR SALE CHEAP

Near Independent Hill Prince William Va.  Nine miles south of Manassas; containing 110 acres; about 60 cleared and the rest in oak and pine timber; four-room frame house; barn 24x36, with basement and 10x36 shed, and other necessary outbuildings; all buildings good as new. production red-loam soil; 1/4 mile from stores, post office, and churches, 1/2 mile from school; partly fenced with wire; several small streams running through place.  Will sell for $1,200; half cash, balance in easy payments.

J.S. STORKE
Independent Hill, VA