Robert Spotswood

Family/Spouse: Catherine Mercer. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

SPOUSE-CHILDREN: A History of Henry County Virginia, Judith Parks America Hill Major General; Governor of Virginia Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume I II--Colonial Presidents and Governors Name: Alexander Spotswood lieutenant-governor under the Earl of Orkney (1710-1722) was a great-grandson of John Spotswood or Spotiswood. Scotland, who in 1635 became archbishop of Glasgow and one of the privy council. His grandfather, Sir Robert Spotswood, was an eminent lawyer, who was elected president of the court of sessions in Scotland. In the civil war, Sir Robert was a staunch supporter of Charles I. and was temporary secretary of state in 1643. Taken prisoner at the battle of Philiphaugh, he was tried by the Scotch parliament, sentenced to death, and executed. Alexander Spotswood's father was Dr. Robert Spotswood, who was a physician to the governor and garrison at Tangier. His mother was Catherine Elliott, a widow who had by her first husband a son, General Roger Elliott, whose portrait is now in the state library at Richmond, Virginia. Alexander was born at Tangier in 1676, educated for a military life, fought under Marlborough, was quartermaster-general with the rank of colonel, and was dangerously wounded in the breast at the battle of Blenheim. In 1710 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Virginia, and showed himself a conspicuously energetic administrator. He bestowed much attention upon Williamsburg, leveled the streets, assisted in rebuilding the church, providing some of the brick, built a brick magazine for the safe-keeping of the public arms, and aided in rebuilding the college, which had been burned in 1705; and in 1722, on the petition of the people of Williamsburg and the assembly, he granted a charter of incorporation to the city of Williamsburg. Against the enemies of the colony he took firm and decided steps. The coast of Virginia was harassed by piratical vessels. Spotswood sent an expedition against them under Captain Maynard, killed the pirate. Teach or Blackbeard, and hanged others. As to the Indians he blended humanity with policy. He established a school for the Saponies at Fort Christanna in Brunswick county, and paid the master. Mr. Griffin. out of his own pocket, and arranged a treaty by which the chiefs of the tributary tribes promised to send their sons to college. He sent soldiers against the Tuscaroras, who had attacked North Carolina, but laid force aside when he found them ready to negotiate a treaty of peace. Against the French and Indians he established two forts on the frontiers to guard the northern and southern passes. At the first of these he planted the German settlement and at the other he gathered the Sapony Indians. His idea was to extend the line of Virginia settlements so as to check the further extension of French influence on this continent. With this in view he explored the back country, and in 1716 crossed the Blue Ridge mountains and visited the Shenandoah river and the beautiful valley through which it runs. He urged upon the mother country the policy of establishing a chain of posts back of the mountains, from the great lakes to the Mississippi river. But Spotswood had his weak points like Nicholson, another capable man before him. He was overbearing and had great ideas of the royal prerogative. And so, though he encouraged the rights of the subject by bringing over with him a confirmation of the writ of habeas corpus, he did not like Nott attempt to conciliate the people. The result was that he got at cross purposes with the assembly, with the council, and with Dr. James Blair, the president of the college, which resulted in his removal September 27, 1722. He continued to reside in Virginia and led an active life. During his governorship he had established a postal system in Virginia, and in 1730-1739 was deputy postmaster-general for the American colonies, in which capacity he arranged the transfer of mails with great energy. It was he who made Benjamin Franklin postmaster for Pennsylvania. He had also called the legislature's attention to the iron ores of Virginia, though without effect; and now in a private capacity he established a furnace in Spotsylvania county, where he had patented 40,000 acres of land. In 1740 Spotswood was made general of an expedition against Carthagena. He visited Williamsburg, and then repaired to Annapolis with the intention of embarking with the troops, but he died June 7, just before the embarkation, and Colonel William Gooch was appointed chief in his place. He left his books and mathematical instruments to the college. Colonel Spotswood married, in 1724, Ann Butler Brain, daughter of Mr. Richard Brain, of London, and they had two sons, John and Robert Spotswood, and two daughters, Ann Catherine, who married Bernard Moore, and Dorothea, who married Captain Nathaniel West Dandridge. Robert, his younger son, was slain by the Indians in the French and Indian war. John, the elder son, married, in 1745, Mary, daughter of William Dandridge, and had issue two sons, General Alexander Spotswood and Captain John Spotswood, both of the army of the revolution, and two daughters, Mary and Ann. The descendants of Governor Spotswood are now represented in numerous families of distinction. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume IX page 456 SPOTSWOOD, Alexander, governor of Virginia, was born in Tangier, Africa, in 1676. He became a soldier early in life, and served under the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim, attaining the rank of quartermaster-general in the British army. He was appointed governor of Virginia in 1710; and became extremely popular, introducing constitutional reforms and receiving the co-operation of the general assembly. He was instrumental in the restoration of William and Mary college; and established a school for the education of Indian children. In 1716 he formed the first exploration party to venture into the Appalachian mountains. This party consisted of his personal friends, Indian guides and servants, each gentleman wearing a small golden horseshoe, and being afterwards called the "Knights of the golden horseshoe." He named Mounts George and Spotswood and took possession of the Valley of the Virginia in the name of King George I. He instituted the order of "Tramontane" to encourage further explorations, secured a treaty with the Six Nations in 1772; and introduced the plan to extend the Virginian settlements, to interrupt the means of communication between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. He was removed in 1772 on account of a controversy arising as to his right of appointment of church livings. He was deputy postmaster-general of the colonies, 1730-39, and postmaster of Pennsylvania. He established the first iron smelting furnace in Virginia, and maintained courtly establishments on the Rapidan and at Yorktown. He was appointed major-general in 1740, and given command of the expedition to the West Indies, but became mortally ill before embarking. His Official Letters were published (2 vols., [p.456] 1882-85), and his speeches in the assembly, 1714-18, appeared in William Maxwell's "Virginia Historical Register." His son Robert was killed by Indians in 1757. Governor Spotswood died in Annapolis, Md., June 7, 1740. Colonial families of the United States of America: Volume 1 page 497 ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD, b. 1686, on an English man-of-war in the harbor of Tangier, son of Dr. Robert SPOTSWOOD, and his wife Catherine Mercer, widow of Gov. Elliott of Tangier; m. Anne Butler BRAYNE, dau. and co-heiress of [p.497] Edward BRAYNE, Esq., St. Margaret's Parish, Westminster, London. He was Col. and A.D.C. under the Duke of Marlborough's command. He did distinguished service at the battle of Blenheim. He was later appointed Asst. Quartermaster General of the army in North Britain, Gov. of Virginia, Postmaster General of the American Colonies, Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial Army. He resided in Virginia between 1710 and 1740. He is supposed to have received knighthood in consideration of his expedition across the mountains of Virginia. The gentlemen who accompanied him were afterwards designated as Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. Outside of executive duties he was interested in the mining and manufacture of iron. Associated with him was his half-brother, Gen. Roger Elliott of London. He established the first blast furnace in America. His Virginia estates in Spotsylvania Co., embraced a large part of that county and the latter took its name from Spottswood in consequence. His principal seat was Germanna and adjacent to it was the village occupied by the German settlers he brought over to operate his ore properties. He died at Annapolis in 1740 just as he was going to embark with Admiral Vernon's fleet to take charge of the land forces in the attack on Carthagena.

Alexander married Anne Butler Brayne in 1725 in St Martins in the Fields, Middlesex County, VA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Dorothea married Nathaniel West Dandridge on 18 Jun 1747 in Hanover County, Virginia, USA. Nathaniel (son of William Dandridge and Unity West) was born on 7 Sep 1729 in Elsing Green, King William County, VA; died on 16 Jan 1786 in Hanover County, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Mary Dandridge on 24 Oct 1745 in Newport, Giles County, VA. Mary (daughter of William Dandridge and Unity West) was born in 1725; died in 1798. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marriage Index: KY, NC, TN, VA, WV, 1728-1850
Henry, Patrick Spouse : Dandridge, Dorothea
Marriage date : Oct 8, 1777

Dorothea married Patrick Henry on 8 Oct 1777 in Fork Church, Hanover County, VA. Patrick (son of John Henry and Sarah Winston) was born on 29 May 1736 in Studley, Hanover, Virginia, USA; died on 6 Jun 1799 in Brookneal, Campbell, Virginia, USA; was buried . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Dorothea married Edmund Winston after 1799. Edmund (son of William "Langloo" Winston and Sarah Dabney) was born about 1745 in Hanover County, Virginia, USA; died in 1818 in Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Mildred Aylett Allen on 11 May 1783. Mildred was born on 7 Feb 1753; died after May 1806. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #0089

"Reportedly, The Reverend Sergeant Allen captured [on or soon after
October 19, 1781] a Cremona Violin in the redoubt at Yorktown and
presented it to William Dandridge as he was a very fine "fiddler". His brother-in-law, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson were also good violinists and they often joined him in playing the minuet at "Elsing Green" [his grandfather's home]. The violin is now in the possession of William Dandridge's Great Granddaughter (unnamed)." p.145, "History of Henry County", Judith Park Hill. This is may well be inaccurate: This William Dandridge was not born until 1750 and Unity West Dandridge, his grandmother, died in 1753; "Elsing Green" was sold shortly thereafter. A more likely possibility is that William joined with P. Henry and T. Jefferson at N.W. Dandridge's home in western Hanover Co.

According to R.B. Lancaster's Sketch of Early History of Hanover Co. p.39 "William Dandridge of Hanover, acting as commissary for the troops at Yorktown, seized 280 gallons of liquor belonging to Robert Pollard of Culpeper and conveyed it to Yorktown for the use of the Virginia troops under the command of General Nelson (Hennings Statutes, Vol. 13, p. 621, records that Pollard was reimbursed at a later date, by act of Dec 28, 1792)"

BIRTH-PARENTS-SPOUSE-CHILDREN: A History of Henry County Virginia, Judith Parks America Hill
Major of Militia in Rev. War

William married Anne Bolling on 21 Apr 1770 in Cobbs, Chesterfield County, VA. Anne (daughter of John Bolling and Elizabeth Bland Blair) was born on 7 Feb 1751/52 in Chesterfield County, VA; died after Aug 1802. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #0089

Was associated with the Boones, Hendersons, et als. in the settlement of Kentucky, and was one of 18 men who met in Legislative Assembly under a large Elm tree near the walls of the fort at Boonesborough, May 23, 1775 to establish a government in the new country. (Colonial Families of the U.S.)

In June, 1779, his brother-in-law, Patrick Henry, recommended him to Gen. Steven as a prospective son-in-law. Served in the Continental Dragoons. One of the original organizers of the Kentucky Territory.

Alexander married Anne Stephen about 1780. Anne was born in "The Bower", Leetown, Jefferson Co., WV; died in 1834. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #0089]

Married to Capt. John Dandridge...on Saturday , 23 Feb. 1782 at the house of her father, Thomas Booth, in Henrico Co., about 5 miles above the city of Richmond.

Groomsmen - John Marshall
Maj. John Pryor

Bridesmaids - Mrs. Marshall
Elizabeth (Betsy) J. (Ambler) Carrington, Wife of Col. Edward Carrington, and friend of the Bride.

John Dandridge served under Edward Carrington during much of the Rev. War.

John married Elizabeth Booth on 23 Feb 1782 in Westham, Henrico County, VA, and was divorced. Elizabeth was born about 1764 in Henrico County, Virginia, USA; died after 12 Jun 1857. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Goode in 1773/1797, and was divorced. was born in 1752/1771; died in 1773/1856. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Broderbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #0089

"Dandridge's of Virginia" by Wilson Miles Cary (p 91) lists NWD, Jr. as the husband of Martha Fontaine (m. 13 Jul 1797). Same ref. has him dying in 1810. Cary's source is George N. Mackenzi's Colonial Families of the US, vol. 1, p. 117-118.

Mark Wilborne's paper "From Virginia with Love" lists (p. 19) NWD, Jr.'s only wife as Sally Watson.

"Colonial Families in Virginia" p.118, lists NWD[Jr.], b. 26 Oct 1762; d. 26 Jul 1847; m. 13 Jul 1797, Martha Fontaine, b. 4 Jul 1781; d. 12 Sep 1845.

Marriage Index: MD, NC, VA, 1624-1915
Dandridge, Nathaniel West J Spouse : Fontaine, Martha
Marriage date : Jul 13, 1798

Nathaniel married Sarah Watson on 3 Aug 1779. Sarah (daughter of John Watson) was born in 1758; died in 1814. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Source: Register of St. James Northam Parish, Goochland Co., VA

Elizabeth married Philip Payne on 13 Nov 1783, and was divorced. Philip (son of John Payne and Jane Smith) was born on 29 Mar 1760; died on 7 Jul 1840. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Anna married John Spotswood Moore after Sep 1782, and was divorced. John was born about 1752 in King William County, Virginia, USA; died about 1810. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Source: Register of St. James Northam Parish, Goochland Co., VA

Mary married George Woodson Payne after Sep 1782. George (son of John Payne and Jane Smith) was born on 9 Oct 1767; died in 1788/1858. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Martha married Archibald Payne on 20 Nov 1770 in Goochland County, Virginia, USA. Archibald (son of John Payne and Hannah Harris) was born in 1748. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alexander married Elizabeth Washington on 15 Feb 1769 in Bridges Creek, Fairfax County, VA. Elizabeth (daughter of Jr. Augustine Washington and Ann Aylett) was born on 15 Nov 1749; died on 20 Oct 1814. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Sarah Rowzie on 19 Sep 1771. Sarah was born in 1735/1760; died in 1795/1850. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary married Peter Randolph in 1766/1799. Peter was born in 1735/1755; died in 1769/1841. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
"Stoneland", Mecklenburg Co., VA

Anne married V Lewis Armistead Burwell on 24 Mar 1768 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, USA. Lewis (son of Armistead Burwell and Chiristian Blair) was born on 26 Sep 1745 in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA; died on 2 Jul 1800 in Stoneland, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]