Page 124 - History of Rockingham Co
P. 124
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
and 12,500, respectively. There was a variety of race ele-
ments: German, Scotch, Irish, English, Dutch, and Negro:
but the negroes were remarkably few, compared with the
number to be found in the adjacent counties east of the Blue
Ridge. The number of negro slaves reported for 1790 was
only about 10 per cent, of the total population; the number in
1810 being about 11 per cent, of the total. Most of the tax-
payers had horses, while but a few of them had slaves. In
1775 Felix Gilbert reported 12 tithables, and John Craig
—nine, more than any one else in their district. The largest
slave-holders in the county in 1788 were Peachey Ridgeway,
John Mackalls, Thomas Lewis, and William Nail, with 12, 10,
8, and 7 slaves, respectively. At the same time James Dyer
had 19 horses and one slave; George Crisman, 17 horses and
4 slaves; Gawin Hamilton, 16 horses and 3 slaves; and Jacob
Coonrod, 16 horses and no slaves. Usually, however, those
who had a large number of horses also had a considerable
number of slaves, and vice versa. Another fact of special
significance presents itself in this connection. In 1790 all the
negroes in the county were reported as slaves: there were
apparently no free negroes; but in 1810 there were 200 or
more free negroes. This change was probably the result, in
large measure at least, of the work done within this period
by the Methodists and other religious bodies in behalf of
emancipation.
Particular instances of emigration, about the close of the
Revolution, have been recorded. Many other instances might
be found. Through the kindness of Mr. H. M. Strickler I
am enabled to present the following paragraphs in point
from two letters written by Mrs. Ryland Todhunter of Lex-
ington, Mo. Under date of August 26, 1911, she says:
Almost the entire settlement of Madison County, Kentucky, was
made up by a concourse of people who left Augusta, Albemarle, and
Rockingham County in a body for that new country about 1785-91.
Again, under date of September 12, 1911, she writes:
In 1810 there were 100 families who came at one time from Madison
County, Ky. , to settle in the new Missouri Territory. They were almost
—107—
and 12,500, respectively. There was a variety of race ele-
ments: German, Scotch, Irish, English, Dutch, and Negro:
but the negroes were remarkably few, compared with the
number to be found in the adjacent counties east of the Blue
Ridge. The number of negro slaves reported for 1790 was
only about 10 per cent, of the total population; the number in
1810 being about 11 per cent, of the total. Most of the tax-
payers had horses, while but a few of them had slaves. In
1775 Felix Gilbert reported 12 tithables, and John Craig
—nine, more than any one else in their district. The largest
slave-holders in the county in 1788 were Peachey Ridgeway,
John Mackalls, Thomas Lewis, and William Nail, with 12, 10,
8, and 7 slaves, respectively. At the same time James Dyer
had 19 horses and one slave; George Crisman, 17 horses and
4 slaves; Gawin Hamilton, 16 horses and 3 slaves; and Jacob
Coonrod, 16 horses and no slaves. Usually, however, those
who had a large number of horses also had a considerable
number of slaves, and vice versa. Another fact of special
significance presents itself in this connection. In 1790 all the
negroes in the county were reported as slaves: there were
apparently no free negroes; but in 1810 there were 200 or
more free negroes. This change was probably the result, in
large measure at least, of the work done within this period
by the Methodists and other religious bodies in behalf of
emancipation.
Particular instances of emigration, about the close of the
Revolution, have been recorded. Many other instances might
be found. Through the kindness of Mr. H. M. Strickler I
am enabled to present the following paragraphs in point
from two letters written by Mrs. Ryland Todhunter of Lex-
ington, Mo. Under date of August 26, 1911, she says:
Almost the entire settlement of Madison County, Kentucky, was
made up by a concourse of people who left Augusta, Albemarle, and
Rockingham County in a body for that new country about 1785-91.
Again, under date of September 12, 1911, she writes:
In 1810 there were 100 families who came at one time from Madison
County, Ky. , to settle in the new Missouri Territory. They were almost
—107—
