Written by Cathy Jett

http://www.freelancestar.com/2013-07-21/articles/13479/home-with-a-history-is-ready-for-a-new-chapter/

Photos by Robert Martin

July 22, 2013

Home with a History is Ready for a New Chapter

From the moment people enter Belle Grove’s tree-shaded drive, Michelle Darnell wants them to feel enveloped by Southern hospitality and a sense of history.

She and her husband hope to open the stately plantation house overlooking the Rappahannock River in the Port Conway area of King George County on Aug. 1 as Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast.

Built in 1791 on the site of James Madison’s birthplace, the house and its extensive grounds—694 acres in all—will also play host to weddings, receptions, conferences, retreats and other special activities such as two afternoon teas with Dolley Madison re-enactor Lynn Uzzell on Aug. 24.

“Eventually we may hold public events,” said Michelle Darnell. “I’d love to see an orchestra do music under the stars on the lawn.”

The Darnells, who are from Chesapeake, discovered Belle Grove while looking for a place to turn into a bed-and-breakfast after their children went off to college.

“I’m from South Carolina and had a grandmother who taught me three things: history, entertaining and cooking,” said Michelle Darnell, who used to work as a sous-chef at a Virginia Beach bistro. “It was inevitable that I would run a B&B.”

Awed by Belle Grove’s potential, the couple leased it from Franz Haas Machinery in 2011. The Austrian company had purchased the house in 1988, and later spent $3.5 million to strip it down to the studs and restore its former glory—along with some modern touches.

To prepare the property for its new role, Michelle Darnell has spent the last two years researching its history, which is replete with family sagas and a brush with Civil War history. They include the mysterious 1869 etching in an upstairs window by Caroline “Carrie” Turner that hints at a romance, and an overnight stay by Union officers in pursuit of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.

Belle Grove Plantation’s history begins with a more than 5,000-acre land grant given to Thomas Chetwood and John Prossor by Virginia Governor William Berkeley in 1668.

Nearly 75 years later, Belle Grove became the childhood home of Eleanor Rose Conway Madison. “Nelly” as she was known, returned there after her marriage to give birth to her first son and the future fourth president of the United States. That house either burned or was later torn down.

A relative, Captain Francis Conway III, set aside 13 acres of the plantation’s land in 1783 to lay out what would become Port Conway. Wealthy merchant and ship owner John Hipkins of Port Royal purchased Belle Grove in 1790 for his only child, Frances “Fanny” Hipkins Bernard and her husband, William Bernard.

He built the center section of the current home over what is believed to have been the Conway house’s basement. A later owner, Carolinus Turner—Carrie’s father—added Belle Grove’s distinctive wings, curved porches and porticos.

The plantation has had a number of other owners over the years, and was used at various points as an experimental farm and a summer home for a wealthy real estate broker from Chicago and his wife.

The Darnells are keeping Belle Grove’s history alive by naming the two downstairs junior suites and one of the two upstairs master suites after the Conway, Hipkins–Bernard and Turner families. The other master suite is named for James Madison.

The master suites will go for $265 Monday through Thursday and $295 on weekends, and the junior suites will run $220 Monday through Thursday and $245 on weekends. A military discount will be available.

Each suite will have a short history of the family that it’s named for, and antique and reproduction furniture typical of what they might have owned. These include a 1730 full tester bed outfitted with a TempurPedic mattress and 600-thread-count sheets in the Madison suite, and an 1885 cheval mirror in the Turner suite that’s perfect for brides to get a full-length view of themselves in their wedding gown.

“I’m trying to pull pieces of what was here,” Michelle Darnell said. “They won’t all be that old, but there will be anchor pieces so you can get an idea of what would have been here.”

Overnight guests will have their breakfast—blueberry and lemon pancakes, perhaps—served in one of the mansion’s two dining rooms. And they’ll have the use of the two “withdrawing” rooms, one of which has a library that the Darnells are filling through a “virtual housewarming party.” That’s actually a request for books posted on Michelle Darnell’s blog, virginiaplantation.wordpress.com.

She also posted a recipe contest on her blog to pick the official Belle Grove cookie that will be served as a nighttime snack in each suite for a year. The runner-up will be served at lemonade socials.

The Darnells held their first open house for Belle Grove on July 4 as part of Port Royal’s Fourth of July celebrations. They were hoping for at least 10 people to show up for each of the four, hour-long tours they planned to give. They got nearly 100.

“I know that I love this place, but for other people to have that passion to be here floors me,” Michelle Darnell said. “People have longed to come here due to family connections or love of history. It gave me great joy to have them here. It made July Fourth kind of cool.”

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Outbuildings at Belle Grove Plantation

When doing the research on the history of Belle Grove, I have come across a lot of wonderful surprises. Historic events and people that we as Americans need to remember. But with that research we have also come across darker times in our history. Not to include it in the history of the plantation would be a disservice to those who lived it and died by it. It is important to know where it came from and how it evolved and what impact it had on Belle Grove Plantation.

When looking at the history of slavery in Virginia, we can trace it back to the founding of the English colony by the London Virginia Company. The London Virginia Company was an English Joint Stock Company that was established by James I of England on April 10, 1606. The London Company, which was also known as the Charter of the Virginia Company of London was established by royal charter with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in the New World. It was through this company that a system called “Headright” was put in place to entice settlers to venture to North America.

A “headright” was a legal grant of land that was given to settlers. To obtain a “headright” the settler would not only have to travel to the New World, but also bring indentured servants with them. The amount of land given was determined by the number of indentured servants brought. Most “headrights” were for 1 to 100 acres of land. The most common amounts were 50 acres for someone newly moved to the area and 100 acres for those who previously living in the area. By giving land to the landowning masters, the indentured servants had little or no chance to gain their own land.

Indentured servitude was a historical practice of contracting an individual to work for a fixed period of time in exchange for transportation to the New World, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during their term of indenture. The general time period would be three to seven years. Most indentured servants were men and women under the age of 21. Generally their fathers would make the arrangements for them and sign their paperwork. There was no cash paid to the family for the individual. The labor markets were overcrowded in Europe and this system provided jobs to poor young people who wanted to come to the New World for work, but had no way to pay for it. In 1650, there were approximately 4000 white indentured servants working in Virginia. Many would earn their freedom and would receive a grant for 50 acres of land when released from their indentures. Here they would raise their own crops such as tobacco.

African workers were first imported to Virginia in 1619. By 1650, there were about 300 African workers living in Virginia. That was about 1% of the estimated 30,000 population. Some of these indentured servants would go on to earn their freedom and would be able to buy land for themselves.

Just to the south, there were Spanish colonies that had long been using slavery for labor. The first recorded instance of slavery in the Virginia Colony wasn’t until 1654. This was a lawsuit brought to court by Anthony Johnson of Northampton County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore against another land owner, Robert Parker over an indentured servant named John Casor. It was Anthony Johnson’s contention that John Casor, an African man, owed him lifetime services.

Anthony Johnson, also an African man, had been brought to Jamestown along with 19 other African men as indentured servants. In 1623, Anthony Johnson had earned his freedom and in 1651 had gained enough wealth to import five “servants” of his own. This import earned him 250 acres as a headright.

John Casor alleged that he had come to Virginia as an indentured servant and had sought to transfer his obligation to Robert Parker, a white farmer. Anthony Johnson claimed in court that “hee had ye Negro for his life”. The Northampton County Court ruled that Robert Parker had unjustly kept John Casor from Anthony Johnson. It was the Judgment of the Court that John Casor be returned to Anthony Johnson and that Robert Parker would make payments for all charges in the suit. John Casor did return to Anthony Johnson. This was the first known judicial approval of life servitude in Virginia with the exception as punishment for a crime. John Casor remained with Anthony Johnson for the rest of his life.

By the end of the 17^th century, large numbers of slaves from Africa were brought to the Virginia Colony by Dutch and English ships. These slaves were placed on large tobacco plantations and would work as field labor, household and skilled workers. Slowly these slaves would replace the indentured servants. As slaves, they not no mutual agreement and no time limit for their labor. Even the children of these slaves were born to a lifetime of service. In 1661, Virginia passed a law that made the status of the mother determine the status of the child. In time, slavery would become an economic factor on labor-intensive tobacco and cotton plantations of the South.

In my research, the earliest record I have been able to uncover of slaves at Belle Grove Plantation dates back to the Will of Francis Thornton, husband of Alice Savage Thornton and third landowner of Belle Grove Plantation. Francis Thornton passed away in 1726. In his will he bequeath the following:

“I give and bequeath unto my grandson Francis Conway one mulatto girl names Bess. Item: I give and bequeath unto the within named George Riding son of my wife Ann, five slaves by name – Mullato James, Negro Dick, Negro Jane, Negro Nanny and a negro boy names Samuel. Item: I give and bequeath unto Margaret Riding, daughter to my wife Ann Thornton, six slaves by name – Negro Charles, a girl named Peggee, a Negro girl names Frank, Negro Susan, Negro Billy, a Mulatto Jacob. Item: The rest of my Negroes I give and bequeath unto my loving wife Ann Thornton during her natural life and after her decease I will and bequeath all my said Negros to be divided by equal portions between George & Margaret Riding, son and daughter of my wife Ann Thornton.”

Alice Savage Thornton passed away in 1692 and Ann Thornton was Francis Thornton’s second wife. His grandson, Francis Conway who received one mulatto girl named Bess would become Belle Grove’s fifth landowner and was Grandfather to James Madison.

The next record of slavery comes with the Will of Edwin Conway, husband of Elizabeth Thornton Conway and Great Grandfather of James Madison. His son was Francis Conway in the below paragraph. He passed away in 1698. In his will he bequeathed the following:

“I also give to my sd sone Francis, three negroes, Sam & Kate & Frank, their child, to him…Item, I give unto the child, or children, whereof my wife now goeth withall, the crop of sweet scented tobacco that is now below at my lower plantation, to be put into the hands of Henry and Edwin Thacker and sent for England, and when money is made from the sale of the same, They, to buy two negroes, such as in their discretion they shall think fit, and to bee delivered to their mother, for the saide child, or children. Item, I give to my sone Edwin, all that estate, both real and personal, which I formerly gave him by deed of gift, recorded in Lancaster Court, with all and every part and parcel of my estate in Lancaster County, not before given, except one negro man named Jack.”

The next Will that speaks of slavery is that of Rebecca Catlett Conway Moore. Her first husband was Francis Conway. Her second husband was John Moore. John Moore was who gave Belle Grove it’s name. She was mother to Nelly Conway Madison and Grandmother to James Madison. She passed away in 1761. In her will she bequeath the following:

“and by virtue of said will did on 16th day July last past make choice of the five Negroes •• I bequeath unto my son WILLIAM MOORE when he attains age of Twenty one and to my grandson JAMES MADDISON junr. when he attains Eighteen years of age to be equally divided between them.”

The last Will that speaks of slavery is that of  William Bernard Sr. He was husband of Fannie Hipkins-Bernard. Her father, John Hipkins built the center section of current manor house for her and her husband. In his will he bequeathed the following to his son William Bernard Jr:

“… to my beloved wife (Elizabeth Hooe)……the use of four of my Slaves that she may choose and the use of two female Slaves she may choose till they arrive to fourteen years of age…and if any of the Negroes she shall have chosen shall die or when the two negroe Girls shall have arrived to the age of fourteen my Executors Suffer her to choose others in their place except such as may be employed as house Servants by either of my Children…all my Negroes & Mulattos be divided……to my Son William I give all the Negroes and their Increase that came by his Mother together with the other half of such as I hold in my own Right.”

William Bernard Jr. never received this bequeath. William Bernard Jr. passed away in 1822 and was the last of the Hipkins-Bernard family to live at Belle Grove. His father wouldn’t pass until 1844.

The last records of slavery that I have found was that of Carolinus Turner. In Federal Census Records, I discovered the number of slaves that Carolinus Turner owned during his time at Belle Grove. The 1840 Federal Census lists Carolinus Turner, age 20-30, along with eleven male slaves under ten, eight aged 10-24, five aged 24-36, four aged 36-55, one aged 55-100, twelve female slaves under 10, eight aged 10-24, five aged 24-36, and three aged 36-55, for a total of 58 in the household, with 31 involved in agriculture. The 1850 Federal Census lists Carolinus Turner at 37, a farmer and worth $100,000. He owned 73 slaves at the time. The 1860 Federal Census lists Carolinus Turner at 47, farmer and worth $272,500. He owned 92 slaves.

Death Records of Slaves in King George County

From all the records I found, Carolinus Turner’s time period contained the best documentation. I was able to pull death records for King George and was able to put names to some of the slaves of the Turners. Here is some of the names from this list:

Warner Stuart, son of John and Susan Stuart died on November 20, 1853 at the age of one year, three months and four days of unknown causes.

Charles Washington, of unknown parents died on May 23, 1855 at the age of fifty-five of ulcer in hands.

Richard Martin, son of Joseph and Harriet Martin died on May 14, 1855 at an unknown age from Scarlett Fever. There were several children that died in 1855 from Scarlett Fever; three in the month of May.

I was also able to put a name to an overseer during the Turner period. His name was Baldwin Lee. He had an assistant named Francis Roach. Francis and his wife Ellen lost a child, Francis Roach Jr. to Scarlett Fever at the age of eleven on November 14, 1853. I don’t have much information on Baldwin Lee or Francis Roach. The only information I was able to find on Baldwin was that he took his own life in 1868.

During the Civil War, many slaves were taken by the Union Army. As I was looking through the archives, I came across a file of small sheets of paper. Written on each piece of paper was the number of slaves that were taken by the Union Army from an owner in the area. It was as if they expected to be reimbursed for their loses.

I have been searching for some records or maps of Belle Grove before or during the Civil War that might give me some idea where the slave quarters would have been. I was told that someone has a map that showed a slave quarters located in the middle of the field at Belle Grove. We have several dirt roadways, many dating back to the early 19^th Century.

Map of Port Conway and Belle Grove – 1854

I have located one map that I feel might tell me that there were quarters even closer to the house than that. On this map, you can see where the manor house is and the roadways are. But in the field, which is now located behind the caretakers house, there looks to be a grouping of some sort. Some have told me it could have been an orchard. But this “orchard” extends down and around a roadway to what I think may have been a wharf for shipping at one time. Also when I was walking the plantation back in March, 2011, just beside this area between it and the driveway on the grassy area that separate it, I found two plate shards that date back to the late 1700s to early 1800s. My thought is that there could have been a trash pit nearby. Could it be one used by the slave quarter?

Summer Kitchen
built in 1790s

Our best record of slavery at Belle Grove is our 1790s Summer Kitchen. This kitchen was built with a small kitchen on the right and small living space on the left. What makes me think that it was living quarters instead of perhaps a laundry is the size of its fireplace. The kitchen side of the Summer Kitchen has a very large fireplace that still has the iron rod attached to the back of the fireplace wall and the iron hooks that were used to hang pots to cook. The living quarter side’s fireplace is much smaller and has no iron rod or hooks and has no mantle.

Fireplace on the kitchen side of the Summer Kitchen

Fireplace on the living quarters side of the Summer Kitchen

Iron Rod with Cooking Hooks
Fireplace on the kitchen side of the Summer Kitchen

My research is not done and I am sure I will find more on the families that lived there. It is our hope that we can restore the Summer Kitchen and convert it into a small museum of what life was like at Belle Grove. Our plan is to house the artifacts and information we uncover on the owners and house in the kitchen side. We would like to devote the living quarters on the left side to the slaves that served Belle Grove. It isn’t the best part of history of the plantation, but it needs to be remembered, lest we forget.

Emmanuel Church
Port Conway, Virginia

If you read “The Little Country Church” posting you know that in Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s cemetery, there are two grave sites that are just tombstones, no remains. That is a grave stone for Major Henry and Elizabeth Turner, which were moved to this cemetery from their original site, but the remains were left behind. The location of these grave sites is no longer known.

Tombstone of Major Henry and Elizabeth Turner
Emmanuel Church Cemetery

The third tombstone is a 6 foot obelisk monument for the Hipkins-Bernard family. The monument has a small bronze plaque that was added to it when it was moved to this cemetery.

This plaque reads:

“This monument, until 1983 located on the Belle Grove Lawn, 200 yards to the west identified the unmarked graves of John Hipkins, died 1804; his wife Elisabeth Pratt 1754-1829; their only child, Fanny Bernard 1775-1801 and her youngest children; Eliza 1794-1803 and William Bernard, Jr. 1796-1822; also five infant children of Jane Gay and John H. Bernard of Gay Mont, who erected the monument in 1849”

When I first started doing research on Belle Grove, one of my first stops was at Emmanuel Episcopal to view the tombstones. When I came across this monument, I realized that there was a burial site located on Belle Grove. I had walked the plantation and I knew there was not a marked area.

So the big question… where are they?

Frances “Fanny” Hipkins-Bernard

If you remember from a past posting, John Hipkins purchased Belle Grove from Captain Francis Conway in 1790 and built the current center section of Belle Grove. He gave Belle Grove to his only child, Fanny and her husband William Bernard. She would live only ten years at Belle Grove. Her husband would marry another and moved to Mansfield Plantation in Stafford County. John Hipkins, who owned Rose Hill Plantation died just four years after Fanny. His grandson, John Hipkins Bernard would inherit Rose Hill and would rename it in honor of his wife Jane to Gay Mont. Belle Grove would later be given to William Bernard Jr by his father. William Bernard Jr would die in 1822 at Belle Grove. Belle Grove would be sold in 1839 to the Turner Family.

William Bernard Jr
Youngest son of Fanny Hipkin-Bernard and William Bernard Sr

My search to solve this mystery lasted for nine months. My first clue was on the plaque itself. It stated that the burial site was located 200 yards to the west. Well I jumped on Google and tried to measure 200 yards west. This would put me somewhere around the house. But it was really unclear. Was it to the right or left of the house? It just wasn’t enough.

The second clue was that the family was buried together in a vault. So my first thought was maybe they were in an underground vault. I knew from visiting the plantation next door, the plantations in the area used a lot of bricks in their construction. So my thought was maybe they built a brick vault underground and placed their family members in. But this was really hard for me to figure out how they would have done so without having a clear door to go in and out of. I would learn later this was a “red herring” in my search.

Camden Planation
Port Royal, VA

The first really big clue I found came from a visit to Camden Plantation, which is located across the river near Port Royal. Camden was built by the Pratt Family. This is the same family that Elisabeth Pratt came from. The Turner family was also connected to this family through marriage. I was very lucky to have a chance to see Camden for my birthday in January. The owner after showing me around the house and grounds sat me down to show me pieces of history that he had from the Turner family and any information he had for Belle Grove. One of these pieces was a letter that was written by James Patton to John Palmer Hooker in 1965. You may remember James Patton from the Rose Hill posting. He was the last owner of Rose Hill (then still known as Gay Mont) and was married to one of the last members of the Bernard Family. John Palmer Hooker was the owner of Belle Grove from 1930 to his death in 1974.

In the letter Mr. Patton was thanking Mr. Hooker for allowing him to come to Belle Grove for the Spring Garden Tour. He also spoke about the burial site of the Hipkins-Bernard Family located on Belle Grove. Mr. Hooker must have asked who was buried in the site and Mr. Patton was telling him about the members he knew. He also let Mr. Hooker know that the monument was purchased in 1849 by John Hipkins Bernard from a company from Baltimore. John Bernard was the last surviving Bernard family member that was born at Belle Grove.  The monument does not have the name of the family members on it. It has the date 1849 and John H. Bernard’s initials and a Latin phrase. Mr. Patton also asks about the twelve foot chains that were missing from the iron poles that marked the burial site. Mr. Patton was concerned that they were missing and hoped that it was because Mr. Hooker had removed them to cut the grass around the burial site.

So when I left Camden, I knew that there had been a section of ground marked by four twelve foot chains and the monument had been in the center of that section. So I was confused about the vault term I kept seeing. But I was still at the same place… where are they?

My next clue came from a survey I found at the Library of Congress on Belle Grove. This survey contained three photos and was conducted in 1937. So I was very hopeful that they had mentioned the burial site. None of the photos showed the burial site, but the survey stated that the burial site was located just west of the driveway. I was so excited… at first. Then I was disappointed. You see the driveway for Belle Grove is a circular drive. So what part of this circular drive is it west of? Ahh!!

Belle Grove
Library of Congress
1937

Over the next few months, I would come across people who knew the Hookers and had been at Belle Grove and my first question would always be, “Do you remember seeing a burial site with a six foot tall tombstone?” Every time the answer was no.

In February, I located some new photographs of Belle Grove taken in 1906 during Captain J.F. Jacks’s ownership. (We haven’t gotten that far in our history of Belle Grove yet, but its coming) The photos were at a library in California (I found a reference to them online). I sent an email to this library and asked if it would be possible for them to copy them and send them to me. They answered two weeks later and let me know that they were on their way at a small cost to send them. Two weeks later, I received them. YES!! There were a large number photos of the house. NO!! None of them showed the burial site! Ahhh!!!

Belle Grove
Plantation side
1906

In March, I found yet another letter at the Virginia Historic Society from Mr. Patton telling a newspaper reporter about the Hipkins-Bernard Family and talked again about the burial site. He spoke about the fact that it was 1/8 acres and that when Mr. Hooker bought the property that 1/8 acres was to still belong to the Bernard Family for all time. But again, it didn’t say where it was. Just west of the driveway. I think I must have lost a lot of hair during this time as I was pulling it out in my search.

April rolled around and my search reached its ninth month. Still I did not know where this family was. My biggest concern was by not knowing where they were, when we started landscaping and started putting in the irrigation system, I didn’t want to dig up poor old John Hipkins and his family. I had been digging deep into the Hipkins-Bernard Family hoping somewhere the answer would show itself. At this point, I had put together the information on who was in the burial site. The bronze plaque was partly correct. The only thing that wasn’t was the parentage of the infant children that were buried in the site.

By the time John and Jane Bernard started having children, they were already installed at Gay Mont (now called Rose Hill) Plantation. I knew from my research that there was a family cemetery located on their plantation so it would not make sense that they would have buried their infant children at Belle Grove. However, William Bernard Jr and his wife Sarah Dykes Bernard had several children, but only two daughters survived. The number of infants they lost was five, which matches the number in the burial site. One small note, of the five children, two sets were twins. They all passed before William Bernard Jr died in 1822. William was the last to be placed in the burial site. I also came to understand that during the 1800s all burial sites were called “vaults”, but that they did not mean vaults like you and I understand them to be today. It is just an area that the burial is at. See a “red herring”.

In mid April, I came across a reference to papers for the Bernard – Robb Family that was located at William and Mary College in Williamsburg. I knew that the Bernard family married into the Robb family so I knew this could be at least something that could help me. In the reference, it listed that there were receipts from John Hipkins Bernard. My hope was to find the Baltimore invoice and hoped that it would tell where to place the monument. The hours for the library only allowed me time on Saturday. So off I went to William and Mary. When I arrived, I was informed that the hours for the Special Collection was shorter than the hours for the regular library. So I ended up with only one hour. This didn’t help me much since there were fourteen boxes with five to ten folders per box.  So I tried to pull those folders that would have been around the time he purchased the monument.

I do have to say this about John Hipkins Bernard. He was a “clothes hound”. He purchased more clothes than I have ever since a man purchase. And he kept every receipt! Now I am not sure if you know this, but back in the 1800s receipts were nothing more than a torn piece of paper. There were some neat pieces that were more than likely those from larger companies, but most were just ripped from another piece of paper. And I have to say this too. Handling these pieces of history with his handwriting and knowing that he handled these pieces was such a charge! It could have been the handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence to me! I was just in awe! But I left that first Saturday empty handed. No receipt for the monument. Ahh!! I am never going to find these poor people!

John Hipkins Bernard
Oldest Son of Frances “Fanny” Hipkins Bernard and Williams Bernard

The following week, I went back over my notes hoping to find something I might have missed. I kept going back to the Bernard-Robb reference list though. I just had a feeling it was there somewhere. Finally I came to an addition that had been added to the boxes. It was a set of papers from James Patton that had been given to William and Mary after his death. So that next Saturday, I got up early and went back to William and Mary to search again.

When I opened the folder, there on top was a type written narrative about John Hipkins, Merchant of Port Royal. One thing I did come to understand about James Patton, he typed everything out. He kept good notes and even wrote names and dates on back of photos and painting so people would know who they were. Go Mr. Patton! As I read the narrative, it confirmed a lot of the history I had collected about the Hipkins-Bernard family. It also filled in small holes like who sold Belle Grove to the Turners in 1839. In case you don’t remember, William Bernard Sr. sold Belle Grove to his granddaughters from William Bernard Jr. for one dollar. Their husbands then sold it to Carolinus Turner. But the best part was that I got two more clues about the burial site. There in the narrative, Mr. Patton stated that when Fanny Hipkins-Bernard died, she was buried in “mother’s garden” at Belle Grove. It also stated that the burial site was located on the north side of the house. YES!! I knew where it was!

I have to go back a little to explain how I knew. When Brett and I first went to Belle Grove to see it for the first time, I took note of a place in the yard that looked strange to me. It was a depression that was perfectly square and slightly sunken in. I called Brett over and pointed it out saying that I thought maybe there might have been another building there or maybe a foundation was left there. It was too perfect just to be a depression left by rain water.

When I got home I informed Brett I knew where the family was. With the clue of it being on the north side of the house, it placed the burial site on the side closest to the dependencies. Now you have to remember when Fanny died, the extension wings were not there. Just the center section. The extension wings came in 1839 almost seventeen years after the last family member was added to the burial site. With the clue that Fanny was buried in “mother’s garden” I knew it would not been on the Riverside of the house. The Riverside is considered the front yard so the garden would have been on the Plantation side where the driveway is now. So west of the driveway and north side of the house placed them where I first saw the depression!

That next weekend Brett and I head to Belle Grove to walk through the house with our interior design team. We took our tape measure not only to measure rooms, but to measure that depression. If it turned out to be twelve by twelve, then we had our site. I think the design team must have thought we were crazy. We jumped out of the car and walked over to the depression and measured…… TWELVE BY TWELVE it was! We found the Hipkins-Bernard family! But as we were standing there, I looked up at the house. It was then that I realized that one of the Junior Suites windows was located right behind the depression. Now here is the kicker! We decided to name the rooms from the very beginning after the families that lived, struggled and died at Belle Grove as a way to honor them for their sacrifices they made to make Belle Grove what it is today. Back eight months before, we had named this Junior Suite the Hipkins-Bernard Room. It was as if they were trying to tell us all along where they were.

By the time we met with the current owner of Belle Grove, we had the whole story of what happened and how the monument got to Emmanuel. Seems the letter from Mr. Patton to Mr. Hooker was right. Mr. Hooker had removed the twelve foot chains, but not to cut the grass. He would later remove the iron rods that held the chains and marked the corners of the burial site. Then sometime between 1954 and his death, the monument was pushed into the wooded area that lies between Route 301 and the house. We aren’t sure who moved it to the wooded area. Could it have been Mr. Hooker or maybe someone that worked on the property helping the Hookers. That part is not clear.

It was there in 1983, after the death of Mrs. Hooker in 1981, the parishioners of Emmanuel Church rescued the monument and placed it in the cemetery along with the plaque telling about who the monument was for and where it had come from. In our meeting with the owner, we asked if we could move that monument back. We told the owner that we would not be replacing the iron poles, but laying a garden space around the monument to keep others from walking on it and marking its corners with concrete footers. We have found two of the iron poles that were removed. Those will be part of the history that will be kept for Belle Grove.

Iron Poles that once marked the burial site

James Madison

The Conway Family had a very big impact on the land that would become Belle Grove Plantation as well as the nation as a whole. When Edwin Conway passed in 1698, Francis Conway I inherited the plantation as well as took care of his mother, Elizabeth Thornton Conway until her death in 1732. Francis would marry Rebecca Catlett in 1717. They would have six surviving children.

It was under Francis Conway I that Belle Grove grew to become one of the most successful plantations in the area.  The primary crop from the beginning of this plantation had been tobacco. While tobacco constituted a major percentage of the total agricultural output, tobacco growth was hard on the land itself. Tobacco is a weed that uses up the nutrients of the land quickly. This is why most tobacco plantations had large acres of land. As the land become less fertile, the plantation owner would clear more land and plant a new crop. A plantation would also grow corn and wheat to feed the plantation as well as vegetable gardens and herbs for medicinal purposes. There would be livestock too, generally pig and cattle, but the animals would be marked and set loose in the woods so they would not have to raise feed for the animals as well. At the height of this plantation under Francis Conway I, there would be a warehouse to store tobacco and a granary for the corn and wheat. There was also a wharf for shipping these items to Europe and for receiving goods.

Of the children of Francis and Rebecca, there are two I would like to talk about. The first is a daughter named Eleanor Rose Conway, known as Nellie. Nellie Conway was born on this plantation in 1731 and grew up here until she married James Madison Sr. in 1749. James Madison Sr. was from Orange County Virginia. He was a prominent plantation owner and was a colonel in the militia during the Revolutionary War. His father, Ambrose Madison was the plantation owner of Mount Pleasant. Ambrose Madison died in 1732, thought to have been poisoned by his own slaves. James inherited Mount Pleasant in 1744 and called the plantation Home House. He would acquire more land throughout his life, bringing his holders to 5,000 acres. He was the largest land owner in Orange County.

James Madison Sr.

Nellie Conway Madison

Shortly after their marriage, Nellie became pregnant with their first child. In the middle of winter, she traveled back from Orange County to her childhood plantation to have her child. There are no records of her thoughts of her childhood home, but it can be assumed that she had a great love for Belle Grove.

James Madison as a young boy

On March 16, 1751, Nellie gave birth to James Madison Jr. Jemmy as he was called would grow up to become our 4^th American President and the Father of the Constitution. Nellie would have nine more children. Nellie would return to her husband’s plantation and would live at Montpelier until her death in 1829. One of her children, Nellie Madison Hite would marry and settle down in Middletown, Virginia. When she and her husband, Isaac Hite built their plantation from 1794 to 1797, she chose to name her plantation “Belle Grove” after her mother’s childhood plantation.

Belle Grove Plantation – Middletown, Virginia
Home of Isaac and Nellie Madison Hite

The second child I want to point out is Francis Conway II (1722-1761). At the death of Francis Conway I, Francis would have inherited the plantation, but he was only 14 years old at the time. His mother Rebecca Catlett Conway would retain the plantation until he would become of age. Rebecca married a second time sometime after 1737 to John Moore (1698-1759). Together, she and John would have two more children. It was John Moore that is credited with giving Belle Grove its name. Rebecca and John managed Belle Grove well and at her death, Belle Grove was still a very successful plantation.

Conway Family Bible

Francis Conway II married Sarah Taliaferro (1727-1784) in 1744. They would have three surviving children. In 1748, Francis Conway III was born.

In 1743, Francis Conway II should have taken possession of Belle Grove. But from my research, it looks as if he did not get the plantation until the death of his mother, Rebecca in 1761. There is a record of another plantation that was owned by Francis Conway II, Mount Sion located in Caroline County. Shortly after his mother’s death, Francis Conway II also passed away. For Francis Conway II, the same circumstance that had happened to his father was now being played out with his mother. At his father’s death, Francis Conway III was only 13 years old. His mother, Sarah Taliaferro would remarry in 1765 to George Taylor, but have no more children.

Captain Francis Conway’s signature

Francis Conway III would grow up and become distinguished gentleman.  Francis became a member of the King George County Committee of Safety form 1774 to 1776. He served for 3 years in the Continental Line as a Minutemen from 1775 to 1778. He was commission a 1^st Lieutenant on September 12, 1776. He served as 1^st Lieutenant of the four companies of Minutemen from the Caroline District. He was commissioned a Captain in October, 1776.

Later in 1842, his service was called into question. He was one of the cases of Revolutionary Claims rejected by the Congressional Committee on claims in 1842, with the statement that, “His name is not on any roll now to be found, nor was he paid, by Virginia, or the United States for any service. It is altogether impossible he could have performed a service of these years, though his heirs were allowed the bounty of 4000 acres for that service, September 1, 1838.” In 1844, this claim was proven.

During the Revolutionary War, Belle Grove Plantation started to decline. Unlike Rebecca, Sarah and her husband did not manage Belle Grove well. Sarah held onto Belle Grove until her death in 1784. Shortly after his mother’s death, Captain Conway took possession of Belle Grove. He sectioned off 10 acres of his land and divided it into half acre lots. In May, 1784, Captain Conway received rights by Act of Assembly to sell the lots and to establish a town by the name of Port Conway, of which John Skrinker, George Fitzhugh and others were made Trustees.

Elizabeth Fitzhugh Conway

Captain Conway married Elizabeth Fitzhugh March 20, 1770. They would have six surviving children. One of these was Francis Fitzhugh Conway (1772-1803).

After years of decline, Captain Conway sold Belle Grove Plantation on July 1st 1790 to John Hipkins for a sum of 2,000 pounds. This tract of land had been in the Savage/Thornton/Conway Family for 120 years.