ALTERNATE ORIGINS

My history books pushed the latter idea, but there is another possibility here.

Much of this book involves a description of the movements of individuals from Europe within the first 200 years of their The sons and daughters of the once highly privileged elite who eventually settled down in the Appalachians might be

arrival. Admittedly, they didn’t go very far – at least the ones I am tracing here. Still, there are puzzles to answer.

the “losers” of their distinguished families, with the Great Wagon Road serving as a kind of filter paper through which ever First and foremost is the challenge of determining the frequency of contact, travel, and emigration from the New England lower gradations of inferior settlers traveled. Should we be looking for a personal diary from a member of the First Families colonies to those in the Chesapeake. As has been mentioned before, seven of these Virginia and Maryland families have been of Virginia that reads: “Poor Cousin George. He was ruining the family business in the Port of Alexandria, and if Papa hadn’t traced to the Northeast. These tracings could easily be erroneous, but if even one or two of them is accurate, could it possibly ordered him to leave the County and go to Abindon, Lord knows what would have happened to the Old Plantation?”

represent a pattern?

This question might seem ridiculous, insulting, and even offensive, except for what most Americans either believe or are told The Pilgrims, after all, were heading for Virginia but ran into a storm and ran out of beer (one reason why they stopped in to believe about the Appalachian mountain people (lazy, hapless, stupid, perpetually poor, etc. etc.). Just a few generations earlier, Massachusetts). What about those who were heading to Massachusetts after them? And what about their grandchildren? The they were members of the gentry – and in many cases, descendant from the Virginia “elite.” So the question has to be asked: If self-described Son of Kentucky himself – Abraham Lincoln – traced his family to Virginia, but before that, he traced it to New they are what you say they are, how did they fall so far?

England.

We could simply dismiss the question as insensitive to cultural differences, or we could examine their backgrounds more The political differences between the colonies were not overwhelming, after all; and travel was possible by land; though it carefully. Who continued down the Great Wagon Road and who remained behind? Why did they make the choices they made?

was even easier and more available by boat down the seaboard. A more exacting search of the genealogy of the five or six suppos-Were the people and the places in Central Virginia at this time, for example, more prosperous than those further down the line?

edly New England emigrants here might offer new perspectives on the comings and goings of early Americans.

And how did the prosperity, say, of Charlottesville, Virginia (Jefferson’s homeplace), compare to that of the Northern Neck and Most of the ancestors who were living in Virginia at the time of the American Revolution participated in the Revolution, and Culpeper? Did family wealth decrease the further you went from the Tidewater, and if so - Why?

all but “Tory Combs” served on the American side. Most if not all of the veterans were paid for their service, but not in currency; There is a larger sociological perspective here that also needs examination. Let’s assume for the moment here that everything they were paid in land grants in what were planned and promised to be newly opened territories. The new American government is as I have laid out here: Descendants of Pocohantas, the Randolphs, the Washingtons, the Jeffersons, etc.; and relations to Robert was long on land and short on currency, and it delived on its promises of land in the newly won territories.

E. Lee, John Marshall, probably the Fairfax family became the poor hillbillies of Appalachia. If these facts are correct, what can How many of the Virginians listed here actually went into Tennessee and Kentucky because of the land they were granted as account for them? How much were the laws of primogeniture and entail responsible? Too many children? An economy of limited veterans? What percentage of the new arrivals were associated with these veterans, though they did not serve in the War them-wealth to spread around?

selves? How many might have gone on to these territories anyway? And what, if anything, could this tell us today about encourag-More specifically, with 10-15 children each generation, was there an economic “place” for most of them within the faming Americans to settle or resettle our remaining empty land?

ily resources? Did being a Jefferson, in other words, insure that your wealth would continue into the next and then into another The four state common border region of Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia is exceedingly interesting. So generation? Jefferson was in debt when he died; but why couldn’t his descendants make a living from his celebrity? (Think of many families whose names that would resound through American history had relatives who settled here and lived contemporane-our family political dynasties today)

ously among the descendants of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, the family of the presidents Harrison, the families Jackson, Austin, Let’s take Jefferson’s daughter Martha as an example. Martha married a Randolph – a fabulously wealthy family - and had 12

Crockett, Boone; and the Jeffersons, Washingtons and Madisons.

children. Here is a thumbnail sketch from wiki that could provide the beginnings of an answer to the question above:

What influence did life in this region have on the social and political connections between the soon to be Westerners? What Martha Randolph educated her children at home, likely with the help of private tutors, as most did. Being engrossed with influence did the pattern of their settlement within the four border region have on the way their children settled the Western fron-the cares of her large family, she passed only a portion of her time in the White House when her father was president. She visited tier in the following generation?

with her husband and children in 1802, with her sister Mary in 1803, and during the winter of 1805/1806. She strongly tried to There were four “cradles” of population described in this book, but the one I find most interesting is the area around the

“protect” Jefferson’s reputation among her children from the allegations about a relationship with his slave .

Holston River, because most of “our” ancestors were living there during the 30 years before the Revolution. Yet the population is After Thomas Jefferson’s retirement, Martha devoted much of her life to his declining years. She had separated from her recorded at that time as hardly 2,500. Can this be accurate?

husband, said to suffer from and mental instability. Jefferson describes her as the “cherished companion of his youth and the nurse With 10-20 children per generation, even the ancestors listed here as living in this border region must have mixed and min-of his old age”. Shortly before his death, he said that the “last pang of life was parting with her.”

gled among a larger number of inhabitants – many of whom we know were members of their own extended families – cousins.

She inherited Monticello from her father in 1826, as well as his many debts. Her eldest son Thomas Randolph acted as execu-The same questions which apply to the four border region in the previous paragraph could also be posed for examination in this tor of the estate. Except for five slaves freed in her father’s will, and “giving her time” to Sally Hemings, they sold the remainder more specific location.

of the 130 slaves at Monticello to try to settle the debts. Within a few years, they sold the plantation as well.

I envision an even larger question about the Holston region: Were the Holston River settlements the spawning ground for the After business reverses and the death of her husband, Martha Randolph considered establishing a school. The state legis-next generation of pioneers? I do not mean this only as a study of something vague, like the American Personality, but more as latures of South Carolina and Virginia each donated $10,000 to her for her support. Increasing financial difficulties obligated a demographic evaluation. Again, with 10-15 children per generation, what percentage of the generation going Westward could her to sell Monticello to James T. Barclay in 1831. He sold it in 1834 to , a wealthy United States naval officer (later the first they have provided?

Commodore of the Navy) and Jefferson admirer. Although Levy was then based in New York, his ancestors had been resident in Could the Holston River descendants alone have provided enough white progeny to fill most of the empty spaces? And, if the South for five generations. Levy invested his own funds in renovating and preserving Monticello.

not – who did, and in what percentages? (New Yorkers? New Englanders? Settlers from Ohio and Indiana?)

Martha was estranged from her husband until shortly before his death in 1828. She died at their Edgehill estate in .

This should not be a question with racist undertones: Blacks, Jews, the Spaniard and the Voyageurs all contributed to the Did Martha die in debt? How could a Randolph and a Jefferson be impoverished? How many of their 12 children were

Western melting pot; but we should not ignore the contributions of the supposedly “Anglo-Saxon” American pioneer (who, as wealthy and why? Were any of them? How long did it take for the wealth to dissipate? If they had anything remaining of the can be seen in this study, were at least bi if not tri-racial by the time of the Revolution). For quite a while (some would say too Jefferson assets, were Jefferson’s daughters robbed by husbands who were goldiggers? (The sad story of Mark Twain’s grand-long) the schools have absorbed the polically popular mania which emphasizes the contributions from “minority cultures.” The daughter comes to mind). Or was being the daughter of a daughter of an in debt former president hardly a prescription for a hillbillies are as much of a minority as almost any other. Should their contributions be revisited?

generations-long sinecure as it is today?

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