Abraham Maury

Notes:

Saunders, James Edmonds. Early Settlers of Alabama. L. Grahm & Son. New Orleans. 1899, p 304-309:

Colonel Abraham Maury
was the younger son of Mr. Matthew Maury, who married Mary Anne Fontaine. He was born in King William county, Va., in 1731. His widowed mother said of him: "He is a youth of happy temper, very dutiful, chaste, and hearkening to good counsel." His uncle, Peter Fontaine, gave the same account of him. This was a happy presage of his success in life. I know that with many the impression prevails that these dare-devil boys are the boys that make their mark in life, especially in the military line. This is a grand mistake. General Henry Lee said of his son when he was a youth: "Robert was always a good boy." When he was at West Point he never received a demerit. The good boy was a good young officer; and became in due time the good commander-in-chief.-- (Cook's Life of General R. E. Lee). A dashing, rude boy may become an effective subaltern, but for high office a man must not only be brave, but thoughtful. He must have "men so equa in arduis." Arduous indeed were the duties which devolved on Colonel Maury, and well did he perform them.

A summary of his life is given in the Danville (Va.) Times, consisting of extracts of a letter, and headed, "Who Colonel Maury of the Old Trunk Was."

EVERHOPE, NEAR GREENSBORO, N. C., December 25, 1871.

MR. P. BOULDIN--DEAR SIR: I have received your letter making inquiries as to who Colonel Maury was, mentioned in a letter found in your old trunk, dated 18th April, 1758, and addressed to Captain (afterward) Colonel Bouldin, from Clement Reid.

I can think of but two children Mr. Matthew Maury had, besides the Rev. James Maury, rector of Fredericksville. One was a daughter, Mary, who married Daniel Claiborne, of an old and honorable family of Tidewater, Va.--the other a son, Abraham, born in 1731. He was a man of good character, great decision of mind, and possessed of excellent education. He was a graduate of William and Mary College; for it was a cardinal principle of the Fontaines and Maurys, of those days, to educate their children thoroughly. Abraham had the confidence of John Blair, "President and Commander-in-Chief of this Dominion," as he is called in the Acts of the General Assembly of that period. You may observe that Clement Reid in his postscript says to Captain Bouldin: "You must cause your lieutenant to keep an exact journal of your marches, and of the different routes you take, and of all your transactions relating thereto; that it may be returned to the president at Williamsburg, according to order."

John Blair was that president. Abraham Maury had formed his acquaintance whilst a student of William and Mary, and that great and virtuous man had full confidence in the intellectual, but modest and retiring student, and probably it was owing to this that Abraham Maury obtained the high and honorable distinction, in those days, of being made Colonel of Halifax county, at so youthful an age, for he is the "Colonel Maury of the old trunk." In 1758 he was but 27 years of age, but he had been appointed colonel at least two years previously! In 1752 Halifax was formed from Lunenburg. Peter Fontaine and Clement Reid were appointed receivers of the county debt. After that, Peter Fontaine was appointed Surveyor of Halifax county, being a frontier county; Abraham, who had a military turn, was made Colonel, and was very active in resisting all attacks from the various tribes of Indians, beyond the mountains, and in North Carolina. History (or at least none that I recollect to have seen), has not recorded his humble yet useful efforts; yet I remember, when a child, seeing aged men in the county of Henry who used to speak of Colonel Maury, and the way he used to keep the Indians down. * * *

Very truly yours, WM. S. FONTAINE."

The period during which young Maury was Colonel of Halifax county was the most disastrous of our colonial times. General Braddock had been defeated. The French and Indians had encroached on our frontiers until the settlers were driven back in some places 150 miles. Colonel Washington was thoroughly discouraged. In the agony of his great soul, in one of his dispatches to the Governor, he exclaims: "The supplicating tears of the women and the moving petitions of the men melt me into such a deadly sorrow that I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, provided that would contribute to the peoples' ease!" In the central counties of Virginia the incursions of the savages had become alarming. In the county of Louisa alone sixty persons were massacred. When the people were called together to form volunteer regiments, the drum and fife excited no military fervor, for every man felt a reluctance to leave his home, when on his return he might find it a heap of ruins and his wife and daughters captives in the hands of the a ruthless enemy. It required the sanctions of religion to rouse the people to the performance of their duty. The eloquent and patriotic Dr. Davis when there was an effort to be made was nearly always in requisition. In one of his appeals he concludes by saying: "In short our frontiers have been drenched with the blood of our fellow-subjects through the length of a thousand miles, and new wounds are still opening. Now while I am still speaking, perhaps the savage shouts and whoops of Indians, and the screams and groans of some butchered family may be mingling their horrors and circulating their tremendous echoes among the rocks and mountains.

But it was all of no avail; a defensive policy was adopted of dividing a small appropriation amongst the frontier counties to purchase arms and ammunition, and leaving it to the colonels of each frontier county to repel the sudden incursions of the savages--and Washington, worn out with his fruitless efforts to unite the people, retired in disgust to Mount Vernon.

My readers, after this retrospect of the history of that gloomy period, can form some idea of what was then meant by being a colonel of a frontier county. Many of these colonels, in attempting to rescue the captives, were shot down by the savage in his ambush and scalped, and left where he fell, for his bones to decay, "unburied, unhonored and unsung." Others, in scouting by day and unceasing vigil by night, were broken in constitution. This was the case, I presume, with Colonel Maury, for he died before he became an old man. Mr. Fontaine says he has seen no history which records the deeds of these colonels of the frontier counties. No! the genius of history, horrorstruck, in profound gloom, sought the deepest shade, and "hung her harp upon the willows." What sorrows did our ancestors incur in winning this fair domain for us from the wilderness and the savage! In the far East there is a nation of people who worship their ancestors; and if in view of all which ours have suffered and achieved for us, we should drop into this heresy, it is hoped that "the recording angel while he writes it down, may let fall a tear and blot it out forever."

Col. Abraham Maury married Susanna Poindexter, a blood relation of Senator Poindexter of Mississippi. He was a prosperous merchant but built some county flouring mills, which were washed away by a freshet and this broke him. When he went again to Baltimore he frankly told his merchant his condition; but, knowing his integrity, the goods were sold him. On his return home he was attacked with small-pox contracted on the streets of Baltimore. Knowing that he must die, he ordered the return of the goods. The October preceding, his eldest son, Matthew Fontaine, had died from the effect of wounds received at the battle of Guilford Court House.(Dr. W. S. Ried.)

Col. Abraham Maury died on the 22nd January, 1784. He had seven children. 1. Matthew Fontaine, above mentioned, who married W. Tabb. 2. Elizabeth, who married W. Dowsing. 3. Susan, who married Joel Parish, Sr. 4. Abram T., who married M. Worsham. 5. Mary, who married Metcalf DeGraffenried. 6. Philip, who married C. Cunningham. 7. Martha, who married Chapman White. Except Elizabeth and her husband, W. Dowsing, (who moved to Columbus, Miss.,) all moved to Williamson county, Tenn. Richard Maury (the father of the Commodore) went with them; and, together, they formed a large colony of the best people that ever crossed the border of that State. I knew them personally, and was reared among them. Many of their descendants were among the early settlers of our county of Lawrence, in Alabama.

1. Matthew Fontaine Maury, the eldest child, was born in 1760; entered the army when a mere youth, was wounded at Guilford, C. H., and died in 1783 from the effect of his wound. He left two sons--Thomas and Abram. Their mother married a second time a man of property, named Stewart, who (the sons thought) mistreated them. They ran away, and sought the protection of their uncle, Major Abram Maury, and came with him to Tennessee. The two boys were prosperous, but died of consumption, unmarried. Col. Thomas Maury was a man of ability, and represented Williamson county (when quite young) in the Legislature.

2. Elizabeth Maury, born in 1762, who married W. Dowsing. They moved first from Virginia to Georgia, and thence to Columbus, Miss. He was the Registrar of the Land Office--a good officer and a good man. His descendants bear the names of Dowsing, Thompson, Bassey, Ware and Turner.

3. Susan Maury was born in 1764, and married Joel Parrish, Sr. He died before my recollection, but I knew her very well. She was a kind, indulgent mother. Her boys were old enough (Matthew Fontaine and Joel) to make fine soldiers under Jackson. Her eldest child, Caroline (the only daughter), was of queenly beauty, and married Hinchea Petway, one of the wealthiest merchants of Franklin. A man of fine sense and very genial disposition. He had a mortal aversion to onions, and when some friend would slip one into his coat pocket, as soon as he detected the nauseous scent he would take out his pen-knife, cut off his pocket and throw both away together. He was a man of great sagacity, and I don't know of his being mistaken but once, and that was when Bennett was hung for murder. An ambitious young physician conceived the idea of resuscitating him, and as he was cut down, he was taken and placed in a carry-all and carried away rapidly. Hundreds of people crowded around the office. When the young doctor found all efforts to bring the body to life futile, he fixed his galvanic points, and when everything was ready called in Petway and another merchant, and applied the points. The dead body opened its eyes, gave a ghastly stare at the two merchants, and stuck out one leg--and the merchants broke and ran, and reported that "Bennett was alive." In a short time it was reported that Sheriff Hunt had been bribed, and Bennett had been hung in stirrups, and there was great excitement, until his body was exhumed from its secret grave, in the woods, and exposed openly in the court house.

I am mistaken; for there was another instance in which Petway's sagacity was at fault. He built a costly brick house right across the south end of main street in Franklin, which had to be torn down. A man can not make a greater mistake than to fix limits to a young American town, located in a fertile country. When cotton rose to 25 cents per pound, and the county of Lawrence in Alabama was settled, Mr. Petway bought and opened up, a large plantation on the west bank of Town creek, where the brick house now stands. After residing there for a while, he sold out and bought a home in the vicinity of Nashville, where he died. He had one son, Ferdinand Petway, who was an itinerant Methodist preacher. He was a man of education and taste, and a good speaker, and a singer of unusually fine voice. He died in the Memphis Conference. The descendants of Mr. Petway are to be found in Davidson county, Tennessee. See Fontaine Chart. Col. Joel Parrish (a son of Susan Maury, who married Joel Parrish, Sr.,) married Sophia Saunders, eldest daughter of Rev. Turner Saunders (and sister of the writer.) Colonel Parrish and his wife lived in Nashville, and both died there before they attained middle age, leaving a family of young children who were brought to Lawrence county, Alabama, and reared by members of her family. Two daughters of this family married sons of Col. Benjamin Sherrod, and are mentioned ante. A son, Joel Parrish, married a Miss Bodie, and died in Lauderdale county without issue. A daughter, Sophie, married Mr. Alfred Gibson. She is a widow living in Mississippi, and has one daughter, Mary, and two sons, Joel and Willis.

The youngest son of the Parrish family in Tennessee was David Winston. He was about my age, and we were schoolmates. Our path to the Academy led through his mother's orchard, where the mellow Father Abraham apples lay, in profusion, on beds of Nimble Will grass. It then wound along through the shadiest places of the beech and poplar grove, and along side of Mr. McKey's orchard; and we had to do some skilful engineering to make it hit both orchards. David Winston Parrish, when grown, moved to Mississippi, and married Mary, daughter of Solomon Clark, of Pontotoc, one of the best men I ever knew. They had two children. One of them, Susan, married Judge Locke Houston, of Aberdeen, "a first-rate man, and one of the best lawyers in the State." They have four or five children, one of whom is a young lawyer, and another, Mrs. Mary Gillespie, a wonderful singer, and, now (1888) postmistress at Aberdeen. The second daughter of David Winston Parrish, is Sallie, unmarried. His widow married Judge Stephen Adams, then Circuit Judge, an excellent man of fair ability, who served two terms in Congress. They had two children, Edward, a very intellectual young man, who is connected with the cotton business in Mobile, and Belle Adams (Mrs. Professor Wills) principal of the Aberdeen Female College. "Belle was one of the prettiest and sweetest girls we ever had at Aberdeen (says my informant).

Mrs. Wills is a wonderful woman (for her size) as teacher, mother, and domestic manager. She has several children, all bigger than herself," and now lives in Auburn, Ala. (1896).

4. Major Abram Maury, son of Colonel Abraham Maury, whose history we sketched in our last, was born in 1766 in Lunenburg County, Virginia, and married M. Worsham, and his two oldest children were born in Virginia. At a very early time he emigrated to Williamson County, Tenn., with all his brothers and sisters, except Mrs. Dowsing. He had fortunately become the owner of a fine tract of land. He laid off the town of Franklin on one end, and was mainly instrumental in having Harpeth Academy erected on the other. When the latter was built I can not ascertain, but from the fact that the shingles were put on with wooden nails, I infer that it was before General William Carroll erected his nail factory at Nashville, and Mr. Clem another at Franklin. He was a man of fine person, good manners and of fair education and a leader in his county. All the Maurys were very much respected, but he was the wealthiest and had the means to foster public enterprises and of dispensing wide hospitality. Major John Reid, who married his eldest daughter, had been a member of General Jackson's staff and his confidential secretary through all his campaigns. This brought about an intimacy between the General and Major Maury, which (as you will see), had much to do with the fortunes of the Maury family. After the war with England closed I have often seen the General on his way to Major Maury's house with a small staff, all in neat undress uniform and with bear skin holsters.

This was while he was Major-General in the United States army, charged with the special duty of making treaties with the Indians for the cession of their lands. The red man when defeated by the general conceived a high respect for him; but when he beat the British at New Orleans it ripened into awe, and when "Captain Jackson" (as they called him) insisted on accession of their lands they were very apt to comply. It was General Jackson who procured a commission for young Matthew F. Maury in the navy. If this had not occurred, what would have been the consequences? Would the "Geography of the Sea" have been as little understood now as it was early in the century? After General Jackson's election to the presidency, Cary A. Harris, a son-in-law of Major Maury, was invested with the lucrative office of Public Printer at Washington City. And now we will briefly notice the descendants of Maj. Abram Maury:

(A) Elizabeth Branch married Major John Reid, above mentioned. He was of remarkably clear intellect, of much decision, and strong nerve. He dispatched business, under all circumstances, promptly, and enjoyed the confidence and friendship of General Jackson to such a degree that he requested him to write his life. He had written the first four chapters, when he sickened and died. The papers Major Reid had collected were then handed over, at General Jackson's request, to Major John H. Eaton, who finished the book. Dr. William J. Reid is a son of this marriage. His wife is Sarah Claiborne Maury. They live at the old homestead of Major Abram Maury. Their eldest daughter, Mary Maury, married Andrew J. Puryear, who died about four years ago. She has four children, two sons and two daughters. A son of Dr. Reid, John William, married Maud C. Perkins, and the younger son of Dr. Reid, is Maury Thorpe, a youth of fifteen years.

(B) Matthew Fontaine, who died at twelve years of age.

(C) Daniel Worsham, when grown, made a venture in the mercantile line in Courtland, in this county. He did not succeed well, and I think went back to Tennessee. He never married.

(D) Hon. Abraham Poindexter Maury had a brilliant career. He was born at Franklin 26th December, 1801, and early showed a decided literary taste. He was taught grammar by that accurate teacher, Rev. Lewis Garrett, and was for some time at Harpeth Academy under Dr. Blackburn. At about the age of seventeen years he was invited by the citizens of Franklin to deliver a Fourth of July speech. When quite young, at the instance of Hon. Thomas H. Benton, who had lived at Franklin and known him well, he went to St. Louis to edit a newspaper. After a year's stay he returned to Tennessee and went as a cadet to West Point. As he had more taste for literature and politics than mathematics, he returned to Tennessee, settled in Nashville and edited a paper entitled the Nashville Republican. Here he made a reputation as a journalist. He married Mary Eliza Tennessee Claiborne (a lady of great beauty and fine fortune), the daughter of Dr. Thomas Augustine Claiborne, and his wife, Sally Lewis, the daughter of William T. Lewis, of Nashville. Dr. Claiborne was a brother of Wm. C. C. Claiborne, first Territorial Governor of Louisiana, and subsequently elected to the office by the people for thirteen years. Dr. Claiborne, father of Mrs. Maury, after the death of his wife, became a surgeon in the United States Navy and died young.

Hon. Abram P. Maury, after his marriage, bought out the interests of his brothers and sisters in his father's farm at Franklin. Served in both branches of the Legislature, and then in Congress for two terms, commencing with 1885. He was the father of nine children: (1) His eldest daughter, Martha Thomas, is still living, the widow of Nicholas Edwin Perkins, whose father, Nicholas T. Perkins, captured the famous Aaron Burr. She had three children--Edwin Maury, unmarried; Leighla Octavia, married to Dr. Harden T. Cochrane, of Birmingham, Ala., and Maud Claiborne, married to John William Reid, above mentioned. (2) The second daughter of Hon. Abram P. Maury. Sarah Claiborne, was married to Dr. Wm. S. Reid, as we have mentioned above. The third, fourth and fifth died unmarried. (6) Abram P. married, before he was of age, the daughter of Wm. O'Neal Perkins, of Franklin, and died quite a young man, leaving a son, Wm. Perkins Maury, now superintendent of the public schools at Fort Smith, Ark., and a daughter, Martha Slaughter, who is married to Mr. Benjamin Mann, of Haywood county, Tennessee. (7) Septima died at the age of twenty-six. (8) Octavia died early. (9) Ferdinand Claiborne, the youngest member of the family, is a lawyer in Nashville, and was married some years since to Mrs. Ida Rains, the widow of General Rains of the Confederate service, who was killed at the battle of Murfreesboro.

(E) James Philip, another son of Maj. Abram Maury, was an excellent man. Never married.

(F) William Henry, lived and died in Fayette county. His descendants are to be found there.

(G) Martha Fontaine, married Cary A. Harris. He was made Public Printer by General Jackson as stated above. They had several children set down in the Fontaine chart.

(H) The youngest of Maj. Abram Maury's children was Zebulon M. Pike. He married Virginia Ashlen, a lady of Williamson county and died while being unjustly detained as a prisoner at Sandusky, Ohio, during the late war. His youngest son was drowned a few years ago, and one of his sons, James Henry, married Helen Deas Ross, daughter of Mr. Wm. H. Ross, of Mobile, and is a prosperous merchant in the city of Paris, France. (1887.) He afterwards returned to the United States, and to New Orleans, to live.

Abraham married Susanna Poindexter on 2 Sep 1759 in Rector Cumberland Parish, Lunenburg, Lunenburg County, VA. Susanna was born in 1742 in Fluvanna County, VA; died on 22 Jan 1801 in Franklin County, TN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Abraham Poindexter Maury was born on 17 Feb 1766 in Lunenburg County, VA; died on 2 Jan 1825 in Williamson County, TN.

Notes:

Matthew Maury was of Castel Mauron, Gascony. In 1717, sailed for Virginia with a shipment of trade goods, arriving March 1718. After taking a portion of the land which John had purchased, he made preparations for the construction of a small house and returned to Dublin for Mary Ann. The sailed back to America in September 1719.

They settled at "Hickory Hill" near West Point, Virginia
.

Died:
"Hickory Hill", King William Co., VA

Matthew married Mary Anne Fontaine on 20 Oct 1716 in Dublin, Ireland. Mary (daughter of James Fontaine and Anne Elizabeth Boursiquot) was born on 12 Apr 1690 in Taunton, Taunton Deane Borough, Somerset, England; was christened on 13 Apr 1690; died on 30 Dec 1755 in Westover Parish, Charles City County, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Mary Ann and Matthew also reared Mary Ann Fontaine, daughter of Rev. Peter Fontaine.

Mary Ann remained at "Hickory Hill" until October 1755 when ill health forced her to move in with her brother, Peter, in Charles City County, Va.

Abraham married Marie Fouquereon. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Received degree of Master of Arts at the college of Guienne, finishing second in a class of fourteen.

Escaped to England with his fiancee, Anne Boursiquot, arriving on Decemmber 1, 1685, after eleven days at sea, Landed at Appledore, at the mouth of the Taw River, and proceeded to Barnstaple. Family moved from England to Cork, Ireland, arriving December 24, 1694. Moved to Bear Haven, Ireland, after death of son, Aaron, in 1699. Later, prior to 1710, moved to Dublin, Ireland. Is buried beside his wife in St. Stephens Green, Dublin.

James married Anne Elizabeth Boursiquot on 8 Feb 1686 in Par. Church, Barnstable, North Devon, England. Anne (daughter of Aaron Boursiquot and Jeanne Guillot) was born on 8 Feb 1686 in Barnstable, Devon, England; died on 29 Jan 1721 in Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; was buried in St Stephens Green Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

A description of Anne Elizabeth Boursiquot Fontaine by her husband Rev. James Fontaine in pages 128-129 of his autobiography "Memoirs of the Huguenot Family"

"I now come to my dear wife, Ann Elizabeth Boursiquot. She was the sixth child of M. Aaron Boursiquot. She was rather small but her figure was marvelously well-formed. She was the only blonde in the family and a real beauty. Her skin was so fine a texture and so delicate a white and rose that there could be no painting so alive. A lady of distinction, visiting M. Boursiquot's, and seeing her lovely coloring, said she could not believe that the child was not painted. Her mother, offended at this impertinence, took the child, about six or seven years old , upon her knee and uncovered her bottom, saying to the tactless lady, "Madame, her skin is all of one piece."
"Her face was rather square, her forehead somewhat broad, her lips the color of coral, her teeth beautiful, her bosom lovely enough to paint. She had a slightly disdainful air, which was not unbecoming to her beauty. She was always 'en bon point, but not too heavy. She had an open spirit and good judgment. She wrote a fine letter, had read a good deal in her youth, and had a reliable memory, which she knew how to put to good use when needed. She was a good and pious Christian, with an extremely delicate conscience, charitable and good at conversation. She was extremely sensitive to insult and disrespect. She had a noble heart and heroic courage which she displayed on all occasions as you have seen. She did not think honest labor was beneath her if it would help to support herself and her children. Her heart was never cast down nor her spirit discouraged by reverses of fortune. On the contrary she rejoiced in her poverty, because it was the result of her love of Jesus Christ.

"She was a tender mother, suckling all her children with a care and attention that would have been unbearable to anyone as delicate as she. But of what is a good mother not capable? It is true that she needed help in nursing her last two children as nature had weakened her. She also had pain in her breasts when nursing Peter, and had to give him to another nurse until he was weaned.

"She loved her children tenderly but was never to lenient or allowed them anything sinful. She accompanied her guidance with her example of virtue which she maintained throughout her life. She always punished her children when they were wrong and encouraged them when virtuous. She was not fond of amusements or society except as good manners and custom required. At home she constantly devoted herself to prayer or useful works. In conversation she was always delightful with me and the children, even to the last years of her life."

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Jacques de la Fontaine

Notes:

After leaving college, James visited London where he became engaged to a Miss Thompson. Upon returning to France, he was appointed pastor of the united churches of Vaux and Royan at the age of 24. He returned to London, married Miss Thompson, and took her back to France.

Dropped "de la" from name for reasons of humility.

Saunders, James Edmonds. Early Settlers of Alabama. L. Grahm & Son. New Orleans. 1899:

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The Fontaines and Maurys.

Who has not heard of the gallantry of the French Protestants (or Huguenots) who in the sixteenth century were so persecuted by the Roman Catholics, that, although only a tenth of the French population, they took up arms and for nearly 100 years, performed feats of valor which were renowned in history and fiction? They succeeded in placing upon the throne, Henry the Fourth, who by the "Edict of Nantes" granted them religious toleration. This was revoked in 1685 by his successor, and a cruel persecution, for many years, followed, in which it is computed, that 300,000 Protestants were lost to France by emigration. How many fell martyrs to the cause has never been known, for "their blood flowed like water." Some idea may be formed, by the fact that in the one massacre of St. Bartholomew, 50,000 perished. These horrid assassinations, under the name of Christianity, caused men to regard religion as a sham; made France a nation of infidels, and fostered that recklessness of temper which brought on the "Reign of Terror."

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The Huguenot refugees who came to America were uniformly patriots, and the war of the Revolution made famous some of the noblest names; such as Chief Justice Jay, Boudinot, the Bayards, Legare, the Lawrences, Marion, Rutledge, and others. Many of these refugees became ministers of the Episcopal church in Virginia, at a time, "when it was so greatly depressed that there was danger of its total ruin." It is a melancholy fact, that many of the clergy were addicted to the race-field, the card-table, the ballroom, and the theatre--nay more, to the drunken revel. One of them about this period was, and had been for years, the president of a Jockey-club." (Bishop Meade, in his "Old Churches and Families of Virginia.") And when this evangelic Bishop was reforming this branch of our Christian church, he was ably sustained by the Huguenot element in it. This was pure gold which had been refined by the fires of persecution. And, as we proceed with our sketch, it will be seen that the descendants of the Huguenots, have not degenerated, either in the field, the forum, or the pulpit.

John de la Fontaine, the common ancestor of these two families, was born nearly 400 years ago, and, though his descendants, James, the first of the name, James Fontaine the second; James Fontaine the third; Mary Ann Fontaine, who married Matthew Maury, and their son Abraham Maury, six generations were comprised, inclusive of the ancestor--and this may be regarded as the trunk of the Fontaine and Maury families; from which, at different times, proceed branches of their various descendants in the United States. Although so long a time has elapsed, the lineage of the persons above mentioned can be verified, for various things have conspired to render the task an easy one. The early history of these families was connected with public times, which sheds a flood of light upon the matter. They were highly educated, and left papers and numerous letters. James, (the Third) in 1722, wrote a history of the Fontaine family, and John kept a diary for many years of his experience in the army, and his travels in Virginia--the vestry books of the old churches in Virginia were collected by Bishop Meade and published--and from all these, Miss Ann Maury, (daughter of the Maury who was, for twenty-five years, Consul to Liverpool) assisted by Dr. Hawks compiled a book called "The Memoirs of a Huguenot Family," which is a veritable history, and a great aid to the devotions of a true Protestant. Moreover Miss Maury(assisted by Gen. Dabney H. Maury) has constructed a chart of the Fontaine and Maury families, for nine generations. It is in circular form--has the names of 25 families, and hundreds of their descendants-a work which required great labor, and was performed with great ingenuity.

1. John de la Fontaine (the common ancestor) was born in the province of Maine, France, and as soon as he was old enough to bear arms his father procured him a commission in the household of Francis First. It was in the tenth year of that monarch's reign that he entered his service, and he conducted himself with such uniform honor and uprightness that he retained his command, not only to the end of the reign of Francis First, but during the reigns of Henry Second, Francis Second and until the second year of Charles the Ninth, when he voluntarily resigned. He and his father had become converts to Protestantism about the year 1535. He had married, and had four sons born to him, during his residence at the court. He wished to retire to private life at an earlier period; but being in the King's service was a sort of safe-guard from persecution, and gave him the means of shielding his Protestant brethren from oppression. He was much beloved by his brother officers and by the men under his command, which made the Roman Catholic party afraid to disturb him. In January, 1561, there was an edict of pacification, he resigned his commission and retired to his paternal estate in Maine, where he hoped to end his days peacefully in the bosom of his family, worshiping God according to the dictates of his conscience. In the year 1563 a number of ruffians were dispatched from the city of Le Mans to attack his house at night. He was taken by surprise, dragged out of doors and his throat cut. His poor wife, who was in a few weeks of her confinement, rushed after him in the hope of softening the hearts of these midnight assassins; but, so far from it, they murdered her also, and a faithful servant shared the same fate. His eldest son was never heard of afterward, but was supposed to have been massacred

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also. God spared the lives of the three younger ones, and guided them to a place of safety. Of the three, James was the eldest, Abraham twelve, and the youngest about nine, years old.

2. James Fontaine, the first of that name, and the one mentioned above, found his way to Rochelle, a fortified city and the stronghold of Protestantism. These poor boys were at one blow deprived of parents and property. A shoemaker, in easy circumstances, received him in his house, taught him his own trade, but without binding him to it as an apprentice. This was no time for pride of birth, or titles of nobility to be thought of. It was not long before he was in receipt of sufficient wages to support his young brothers, but they all lived poorly enough, until James reached manhood. He then engaged in commerce, and his after career was comparatively prosperous.

He married, and had two daughters and one son. Like the Fontaines, generally, he was a very handsome man, as we shall see by the following incident. Having married a second wife, who was a very wicked woman, she tried to poison him, though she did not succeed, for medical aid was promptly obtained; she was taken to prison, tried, and condemned to death. It so happened that Henry IV was then at Rochelle, and application was made to him for pardon. He replied that, before making an answer, he would like to see the man she was so anxious to get rid of, to judge for himself whether there was any excuse for her. When James Fontaine appeared before him, he called out, "Let her be hanged! Ventre Saint Gris! He is the handsomest man in my kingdom."

3. James Fontaine (the second of that name), and the one son mentioned above, became a minister. He married first a Miss Thompson, and had five children, and the second time Miss Marie Clallon, and by her he had same number. His daughter married Rev. Mr. Santreau. His church was condemned. He left the Kingdom, sailed for America with his wife and five children, and the vessel was shipwrecked in sight of Boston, and all the family perished. I have no space to notice the members of the family in detail.

4. James Fontaine (the third of that name), and the youngest son of the foregoing family, was born in 1603, and died in 1666. He had a life full of adventure. He, too, was a Protestant minister, was imprisoned for along time, and at length escaped from France. In England he married a French lady, Anne Elizabeth Boursiquot, also a refugee. Although he was lame from a fall in childhood, yet he was active and energetic, and used many ingenious devices to support himself and family. He received Holy orders from the Protestant Synod, assembled at Tannton. Here his first child, Mary Ann Fontaine, was born 12th April, 1690. He moved to Cork, Ireland, in 1694, and supported his family by having baize manufactured on hand looms, for power looms had not yet come into use in England. He preached to a congregation, but they were so poor he declined to receive any compensation. On the day of a baptism of a son, he made a great supper, as though he intended to feast the wealthiest of the French refugees in Cork; but instead of that, he invited the poor of his flock, and after they had eaten and drank abundantly of the best, he gave each a shilling to take home.

Mr. Fontaine then concluded, as his family was becoming large, to find a country home, and he rented a farm on Bear Haven Bay. His plan was to eke out his income by a fishery. But here he encountered trouble entirely unexpected. One morning in June a French privateer hove in sight. She floated gently toward his house in a perfect calm. She had a force of eighty men on board, besides four of his Irish neighbors who acted as guides. She mounted ten guns. He made a feint which deceived the enemy as to his numbers. The privateer entered the mouth of the creek and anchored a long musket shot from the house, presently the lieutenant landed with twenty men and marched directly toward the house, Mr. Fontaine had seven men with him in addition to his wife and children He placed them at different windows and he posted himself in one of the towers over the door, and as the lieutenant was advancing with every appearance of confidence he fired at him with a blunderbuss loaded with large shot, some of which

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entered his neck and the rest his side. His men took him up, crossed the ditch and carried him to the vessel.

The captain was furious at this unexpected resistance from a minister; and sent another officer on shore with twenty more men and two small cannon, which were discharged against the house; but the position of the battery was oblique, and the balls glanced from the heavy stone walls. The conflict became a hot one. During the time there were several hundred Irishmen collected on a neighboring height, rejoicing in the anticipation of the defeat of the Fontaines. The Frenchman who was pointing the cannon was killed, and an incessant fire was kept up, and as soon as a musket was emptied it was handed down to one of the children to reload, and he was given another. Mrs. Fontaine was here and there and everywhere, carrying ammunition and giving encouragement to all, as well by what she said as by her own calm deportment. She was praying incessantly, but she took care "to keep the powder dry," and in good supply. Claude Bonnet, a French soldier, received a ball in the fleshy part of the arm, and she applied the first dressing to it with her own hands. The engagement lasted from 8 o'clock in the morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and during the whole time there had been no cessation of firing. The enemy then retired with three men killed and seven wounded.

The name of James Fontaine, and his wife, too, became known throughout Europe by means of the newspapers giving the history of this defense. The government furnished him with ammunition in abundance, and he bought several six pounders which had been fished up from a wreck, and he raised a fortification and planted his guns upon it so as to command the mouth of the inlet. Mr. Fontaine then went to Dublin to wait on the Council and concert measures for the better defense of the coast. During his absence a privateer approached the house. Mrs. Fontaine was on the alert, had all the cannons loaded, and one of them fired off to show that all was in readiness for defense, and when they saw this they veered about and sailed away. Then and there the coat-of-arms of the Fontaine family ought to have been changed, and instead of the mysterious emblems known only to a herald's office, should have been substituted the picture of a lady bravely applying the fuse to a cannon, the smoke rolling in volumes from its mouth, and the ball flying through the air in the direction of a vessel in the offing. No blood ever mingled with the Fontaines and Maurys, more noble than that of Anna Elizabeth Boursiquot.

But a French privateer attacked his house for a third time, in the night, and sent eighty men in three boats on shore. Although taken by surprise, Mr. Fontaine prepared for defense. The enemy set all the outhouses on fire, and in a half hour the defender was enveloped in smoke, so that he was unable to see his enemies. He had to fire haphazard; and overloading his piece it burst and he was thrown down with such violence that three of his ribs and his collar-bone were broken, and the flesh of his right hand much torn. After he was prostrated, Mrs. Fontaine assumed the command; she had an eye to everything; she went round to furnish ammunition as it was required; and she gave courage as well by her exhortations as her example. But such heroic efforts were of no avail and they were conquered, and Mr. Fontaine and two of his sons were carried away prisoners; the Captain announcing that he would release them on the payment of 100. Did the lady sit down and weep? Nothing of the kind! She flew around to borrow the money. She succeeded only partly, and seeing the vessel under sail, she determined to follow by land, and keep the vessel in sight as long as she could. She ran to a promontory, and made a signal to the pirate with her apron tied to a stick. A boat was dispatched to hear what she had to say. After a great deal of bargaining the Captain agreed to release her husband upon a cash payment of 30, and retained her son Peter as hostage for the payment of the balance of the money. Peter was subsequently released. Mr. Fontaine left this inhospitable coast, and removed to Dublin.

James Fontaine (third) and his wife had a large family of children. Of them the Rev. Peter Fontaine removed to America. He was rector of Westover parish, in Virginia, and his daughter, Mary Ann, married Isaac Winston, who had "a good fortune and a

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spotless reputation." He is the ancestor of a large family of wealthy and respectable citizens of Alabama, which gave a governor to that State in the person of John Anthony Winston.(*) A daughter of James Fontaine, MaryAnn Fontaine, married Matthew Maury, in Ireland, on the 20th of October, 1716. She had been born in England, in 1690. He was of Castle Mauron, in Gascony, France. He had lived in Dublin about two years, having come hither as a refugee, on account of his religion. He was not a minister, as some have supposed; was "a very honest man, a good economist, but without property." There is no doubt of his having been well educated, as we shall show when we come to speak of his sons. His wife (who lived until she was sixty-five) had a checkered existence. She was a girl of fourteen when she had to assist her father in defending his home against the French privateers; and, after the family came to Virginia, although the public wars with the Indians had ceased, yet the frontiers were frequently visited by their incursions, and fire, and sword, and perpetual alarms, surrounded them all the latter days of her life. The effect was to form one of the most perfect characters in the whole list of men and women belonging to her descendants (who have never been wanting in nerve or intellect). Matthew Maury and his wife came to Virginia in 1719, and settled in King William county, on the Pamunkey. They had three children--James, Mary and Abraham.

James married Marie Chaillon in 1641 in Saintonge, France. Marie was born in 1615 in Rue au Roy near Pons, Saintonge, France; died about 1680 in Jenouille-Jaffe Estate, Veaux, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: 1686, Taillebourg, Saintage, France; Silk Merchant

Aaron married Jeanne Guillot in 1649. Jeanne (daughter of Mathurin Guillot and Renee La Peintre) was born on 20 Aug 1630 in St Jean, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, France; died on 10 May 1690 in Taillebourg, Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]