Veteran: War of 1812
h/o 1st Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham, 2nd Mary Powell.
CLICK on images for caption.
NOTE: All, save this one of the buildings associated with La'Fayette's 1825 brief visit have disappeared through the years--a disastrous fire destroyed the Castle Inn, the Nansemond County Courthouse, and the Holladay Hotel in 1837 and the Indian Queen is also gone [as of 1890]. Only Washington Smith's Ordinary [Somerton Inn], has survived almost untouched through the years, but it is now threatened to be demolished by the City of Suffolk. The City of Suffolk has, around August 2012, ordered the Smith home, "Somerton Inn"(Ordinary), at 8442 Arthur drive, be demolished if extensive repairs are not made, to wit: Owned privately and occupied until just recently, the original portion of the Ordinary [Somerton Inn], is solid and virtually unchanged from its early use as a tavern. However, the deteriorated condition of the addition, when brought to the attention of the City of Suffolk, precipitated an order for extensive repairs to be made within 30 days or the City would demolish the entire building, sending the bill to the property owners who are descendants of the tavernkeeper, Washington Smith. . It is most encourging when we discovered the Inn being restored on visit January 2013, with, in part, funds from the very active Suffolk-Nasemond County Historical Society.
Birth: in Nansemond county, Virginia, some say, 1777 others 1779.
~ Capt, in 59th Virginia Regiment during War of 1812 ~
The village of Somerton began in the 17th century when Sir Thomas Jernigan (also spelled Jarnigan) of Somerleyton, Suffolk county, England came to Virginia and was granted 250 acres in what now is Suffolk. New Norfolk County is said to have been formed in 1636 from that part of Elizabeth City County lying to the south of Hampton Roads, and extinguished in 1637 by the formation of Lower Norfolk and Upper Norfolk Counties. Upper Norfolk County was extinguished in 1646 (?) when Nansemond County was organized following legislation the previous year. My 10th great,grandfather, Robert Boggus, is documented 1 April 1644 as living in Nansemond county ("Norfolk. Co. Va., Deed Bk, B: 37a"). Nansemond is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1972 until 1974. It was created from Nansemond County, Virginia, and is now part of the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia. Its reported that the first Post Road between Suffolk and 1722 created Edenton [North Carolina] was established c1758. This trail traveled through Somerton and Salem in Virginia, and to Pipkin's, Inn in Edenton.
Census: 1820, age 26 to 44 Nansemond county, Virginia, widowed with three sons, four daughters, 21 slaves & two free persons of color, operating an Ordinary, currently at 8442 Arthur drive, pictured at right. Its said that Washington's father, Thomas, wanted to keep the business in the family, so he passed the 'Ordinary' down to his son and second wife, Mary (Powell) Smith.
It was on July 12th, 1884 that widowed La'Fayette, with son and his entourage, boarded at Le Havre arriving in Staten Island, New York August 15, 1824, at invitation of the United States Congress, which was a personal triumph for Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last surviving general of the Revolutionary War. (United States celebrated his two hundreth birthday by issuing a commemorative postage stamp with his likeness) From 1824 to 1825, Lafayette visited all twenty-four states in the Union. Along the way he was treated to numerous dinners and balls in his honor. He listened to speeches, he attended plays, he visited Revolutionary War veterans, following a visit to Saint Louis in recently created Missouri, he went up river to Nashville where he visited Andrew Jackson, who was fresh from a disturbing defeat for the presidency, returned to 'The Hermitage' in Nashville to plot his successful come back for next election. Jackson showed the pair of French made pistol La'fayette had given George Washington early in the Revolution which had later been presented to Andrew Jackson who in turn, willed them to Georges Washington La'Fayette, the Marquises' son, and he laid the cornerstones to several monuments to the American Revolution including monument of the Golden Anniversary for Bunker Hill, June 1825. No expense was spared in celebrating the return of the hero. He was uniformly welcomed and celebrated as a returning hero. In his memoirs, Walt Whitman would recall his excitement, as a child in Brooklyn, when La'Fayette pressed him against his heart. La'Fayette navigated the Hudson, the Mississippi and the Alabama rivers on steamboats, and took a ride on a balloon in New York; he received gifts ranging from swords to Indian artifacts to a black bear, which was sent to France and became the first of its kind to be displayed in a French zoo. He was also awarded by The College of William and Mary on October 20, 1824, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Late in his trip, he was voted, by the U.S. Congress, the sum of $200,000 and a township of land located in Tallahassee, Florida to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant.
La'Fayette was enjoying his tour afer trips from Washington city following February 9, 1825, when Adams won the presidency by Henry Clay giving him his electoral votes, ~ ~ to to visit his friend, George Washington's tomb, to Williamsburg, then to relive the victory of Yorktown, after which to visit several days with old friend Thomas Jefferson at >Monticello, next to dine with James and Dolly Madison at their Montpelier, then finally to return to Norfolk by steamboat where he had previously spent October 19 to 27, 1824, leaving there by stage coach for Suffolk to spend Friday night, February 25, 1825 at Castle Inn where in Suffolk, Nansemond county, Virginia a welcoming speech by Joseph Prentis,II following introduction by John Cohoon then fed fine food prepared at the Holladay Hotel across street from the Castle Inn, so after his dinner, he spent Friday night at Castle Inn, which now, following 1837 fire, is 341 north Main street, known as the Joseph Prentis home. He ventured on southwesterly another eighteen miles, stopping in Somerton for a lunch around two in the afternoon on his journey to Henry Ramsey's Indian Queen Hotel in Murfreesboro, Hertford county, North Carolina for another night of rest then he was escorted on west to Jackson, Northampton county, where the first Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court John Lewis Taylor was holding court.
Washington and Mary were the Somerton Inn Keepers (reportedly still, one hundred eighty seven (187) years later, in 2012, owned by the Smith's descendents), Saturday, 26th February 1825, when Marquis de La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last of the American Revolution's Generals, at his 1834 demise, stopped by their ordinary for an afternoon lunch, around two o'clock, being served the fine food they had become known for, with drinks in their basement kitchen, dinning and bar area where Dr Thomas Wood Borland's group met him to escort them on his journey south-west, where their coaches and wagons were nearly mired down in the muddy road of North Carolina's February winter weather, on way to the Indian Queen hotel/inn with another gala-event taking place into the wee hours of the following morning before he got some sleep.
NOTE: The back part of the house, Ordinary, had not been added in 1825, nor had the porch. The front was then the side opposite the chimneys. Each chimney has a large fireplace at the base where the cooking was done, the cellar being the kitchen. SOURCE: the Daily Roanoke-Chowan News "The Roanoke-Chowan Story" Ch 14.
With completion of his twenty-four state tour the Marquis de La'fayette embarked on the steamboat Mount Vernon, 7th of September 1825 for the trip downriver to board newly constructed U S frigate Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean for his return voyage to France, with the $200,000 dollars given him by the United States Congress.
Census: 1830, age 50 to 59 Nansemond county, Virginia with 2nd wife, three sons, six daughters, two free persons of color & 29 slaves, operating Somerton Inn, an Ordinary.
Had been appointed afer 1832, and served as Postmaster of Somerton.
Somerton Inn remains today within Somerton Historic District, as one of its oldest structures. However, view NOTE at top of page!
The late -18th โ early -19th century Washington Smith Ordinary is among the oldest and most impressive houses in the district. The dwelling is located at the northwest intersection of Pittmantown Road and Arthur Drive. The two-story wood frame dwelling with Greek Revival, Federal, and Georgian influences rests on a brick foundation and features a cellar that was once an English basement.
This pre-1800 Ordinary at 8442 Arthur Drive, exhibits many unique architectural details, including a double chimney with double shoulders and a pent roof with a window, reminiscent of Georgian style, a lunette window in the attic, and a three-part window on the second story facing Arthur Drive. The interior of the house is a side-hall plan and features detailing reminiscent of the Federal era. The mantles throughout the first floor feature elaborate detailing for such a rural dwelling. Throughout history, the dwelling served as both an Ordinary and as a residence. It began as the "Thomas Smith Ordinary" and was later named the "Washington Smith Ordinary".
It was their last born son, Thomas Washington Smith, husband of Harriott Godwin Borland, who had the Confederate Statute erected in the Cedar Hill cemetery, Suffolk, Virginia.
Death: in Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia, burial likely (?) in son's burial grounds, to wit: The Robert R. Smith burial lot, also known as Smith Family Cemetery, is shown located currently south, along Arthur drive of 8441 Arthur drive, reported as in the land between the then Somerton Methodist Church and the Robert R. Smith house at current address of 8441 Arthur drive. Robert Riddick Smith, an innkeeper and business man was buried in the said cemetery after his c.1850(sic, 1845) murder in Suffolk. His wife Sarah Jane Powell Smith was buried there as well as his eldest son, Washington C Smith ~ ~ now a field without markers when viewed December 2012 by Jeff Rau.
Father: Thomas Smith b:
Mother: Anne (currently unknown) b:
Marriage 1: Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham b: 13 OCT 1781, likely (?) Gates county, North Carolina.
Married: 18 DEC 1798 Gates county, North Carolina.
Known Children
Margaret Anne Smith b: 10 OCT 1799 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Henning Tembte Smith b: 3 JAN 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Jane Smith b: 1 AUG 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Robert Riddick Smith b: 16 JAN 1808 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Smith b: 13 NOV 1810 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Sophia Emmeline Smith b: 3 JAN 1813 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Anne Cunningham Smith b: 21 MAY 1816 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia (maybe (?), 21 DEC 1815).
Marriage 2: Mary Powell b: around 1800 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Married: around 1820 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Known Children
James Edward Smith b: 1822 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Benjamin Devania Smith b: 14 FEB 1824 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Elizabeth Frances Smith b: 1827 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Cornelia Smith b: 25 FEB 1830 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Washington Smith b: 1 JAN 1832 Nansemond county, Virginia.
h/o 1st Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham, 2nd Mary Powell.
CLICK on images for caption.
NOTE: All, save this one of the buildings associated with La'Fayette's 1825 brief visit have disappeared through the years--a disastrous fire destroyed the Castle Inn, the Nansemond County Courthouse, and the Holladay Hotel in 1837 and the Indian Queen is also gone [as of 1890]. Only Washington Smith's Ordinary [Somerton Inn], has survived almost untouched through the years, but it is now threatened to be demolished by the City of Suffolk. The City of Suffolk has, around August 2012, ordered the Smith home, "Somerton Inn"(Ordinary), at 8442 Arthur drive, be demolished if extensive repairs are not made, to wit: Owned privately and occupied until just recently, the original portion of the Ordinary [Somerton Inn], is solid and virtually unchanged from its early use as a tavern. However, the deteriorated condition of the addition, when brought to the attention of the City of Suffolk, precipitated an order for extensive repairs to be made within 30 days or the City would demolish the entire building, sending the bill to the property owners who are descendants of the tavernkeeper, Washington Smith. . It is most encourging when we discovered the Inn being restored on visit January 2013, with, in part, funds from the very active Suffolk-Nasemond County Historical Society.
Birth: in Nansemond county, Virginia, some say, 1777 others 1779.
~ Capt, in 59th Virginia Regiment during War of 1812 ~
The village of Somerton began in the 17th century when Sir Thomas Jernigan (also spelled Jarnigan) of Somerleyton, Suffolk county, England came to Virginia and was granted 250 acres in what now is Suffolk. New Norfolk County is said to have been formed in 1636 from that part of Elizabeth City County lying to the south of Hampton Roads, and extinguished in 1637 by the formation of Lower Norfolk and Upper Norfolk Counties. Upper Norfolk County was extinguished in 1646 (?) when Nansemond County was organized following legislation the previous year. My 10th great,grandfather, Robert Boggus, is documented 1 April 1644 as living in Nansemond county ("Norfolk. Co. Va., Deed Bk, B: 37a"). Nansemond is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1972 until 1974. It was created from Nansemond County, Virginia, and is now part of the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia. Its reported that the first Post Road between Suffolk and 1722 created Edenton [North Carolina] was established c1758. This trail traveled through Somerton and Salem in Virginia, and to Pipkin's, Inn in Edenton.
Census: 1820, age 26 to 44 Nansemond county, Virginia, widowed with three sons, four daughters, 21 slaves & two free persons of color, operating an Ordinary, currently at 8442 Arthur drive, pictured at right. Its said that Washington's father, Thomas, wanted to keep the business in the family, so he passed the 'Ordinary' down to his son and second wife, Mary (Powell) Smith.
It was on July 12th, 1884 that widowed La'Fayette, with son and his entourage, boarded at Le Havre arriving in Staten Island, New York August 15, 1824, at invitation of the United States Congress, which was a personal triumph for Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last surviving general of the Revolutionary War. (United States celebrated his two hundreth birthday by issuing a commemorative postage stamp with his likeness) From 1824 to 1825, Lafayette visited all twenty-four states in the Union. Along the way he was treated to numerous dinners and balls in his honor. He listened to speeches, he attended plays, he visited Revolutionary War veterans, following a visit to Saint Louis in recently created Missouri, he went up river to Nashville where he visited Andrew Jackson, who was fresh from a disturbing defeat for the presidency, returned to 'The Hermitage' in Nashville to plot his successful come back for next election. Jackson showed the pair of French made pistol La'fayette had given George Washington early in the Revolution which had later been presented to Andrew Jackson who in turn, willed them to Georges Washington La'Fayette, the Marquises' son, and he laid the cornerstones to several monuments to the American Revolution including monument of the Golden Anniversary for Bunker Hill, June 1825. No expense was spared in celebrating the return of the hero. He was uniformly welcomed and celebrated as a returning hero. In his memoirs, Walt Whitman would recall his excitement, as a child in Brooklyn, when La'Fayette pressed him against his heart. La'Fayette navigated the Hudson, the Mississippi and the Alabama rivers on steamboats, and took a ride on a balloon in New York; he received gifts ranging from swords to Indian artifacts to a black bear, which was sent to France and became the first of its kind to be displayed in a French zoo. He was also awarded by The College of William and Mary on October 20, 1824, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Late in his trip, he was voted, by the U.S. Congress, the sum of $200,000 and a township of land located in Tallahassee, Florida to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant.
La'Fayette was enjoying his tour afer trips from Washington city following February 9, 1825, when Adams won the presidency by Henry Clay giving him his electoral votes, ~ ~ to to visit his friend, George Washington's tomb, to Williamsburg, then to relive the victory of Yorktown, after which to visit several days with old friend Thomas Jefferson at >Monticello, next to dine with James and Dolly Madison at their Montpelier, then finally to return to Norfolk by steamboat where he had previously spent October 19 to 27, 1824, leaving there by stage coach for Suffolk to spend Friday night, February 25, 1825 at Castle Inn where in Suffolk, Nansemond county, Virginia a welcoming speech by Joseph Prentis,II following introduction by John Cohoon then fed fine food prepared at the Holladay Hotel across street from the Castle Inn, so after his dinner, he spent Friday night at Castle Inn, which now, following 1837 fire, is 341 north Main street, known as the Joseph Prentis home. He ventured on southwesterly another eighteen miles, stopping in Somerton for a lunch around two in the afternoon on his journey to Henry Ramsey's Indian Queen Hotel in Murfreesboro, Hertford county, North Carolina for another night of rest then he was escorted on west to Jackson, Northampton county, where the first Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court John Lewis Taylor was holding court.
Washington and Mary were the Somerton Inn Keepers (reportedly still, one hundred eighty seven (187) years later, in 2012, owned by the Smith's descendents), Saturday, 26th February 1825, when Marquis de La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last of the American Revolution's Generals, at his 1834 demise, stopped by their ordinary for an afternoon lunch, around two o'clock, being served the fine food they had become known for, with drinks in their basement kitchen, dinning and bar area where Dr Thomas Wood Borland's group met him to escort them on his journey south-west, where their coaches and wagons were nearly mired down in the muddy road of North Carolina's February winter weather, on way to the Indian Queen hotel/inn with another gala-event taking place into the wee hours of the following morning before he got some sleep.
NOTE: The back part of the house, Ordinary, had not been added in 1825, nor had the porch. The front was then the side opposite the chimneys. Each chimney has a large fireplace at the base where the cooking was done, the cellar being the kitchen. SOURCE: the Daily Roanoke-Chowan News "The Roanoke-Chowan Story" Ch 14.
With completion of his twenty-four state tour the Marquis de La'fayette embarked on the steamboat Mount Vernon, 7th of September 1825 for the trip downriver to board newly constructed U S frigate Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean for his return voyage to France, with the $200,000 dollars given him by the United States Congress.
Census: 1830, age 50 to 59 Nansemond county, Virginia with 2nd wife, three sons, six daughters, two free persons of color & 29 slaves, operating Somerton Inn, an Ordinary.
Had been appointed afer 1832, and served as Postmaster of Somerton.
Somerton Inn remains today within Somerton Historic District, as one of its oldest structures. However, view NOTE at top of page!
The late -18th โ early -19th century Washington Smith Ordinary is among the oldest and most impressive houses in the district. The dwelling is located at the northwest intersection of Pittmantown Road and Arthur Drive. The two-story wood frame dwelling with Greek Revival, Federal, and Georgian influences rests on a brick foundation and features a cellar that was once an English basement.
This pre-1800 Ordinary at 8442 Arthur Drive, exhibits many unique architectural details, including a double chimney with double shoulders and a pent roof with a window, reminiscent of Georgian style, a lunette window in the attic, and a three-part window on the second story facing Arthur Drive. The interior of the house is a side-hall plan and features detailing reminiscent of the Federal era. The mantles throughout the first floor feature elaborate detailing for such a rural dwelling. Throughout history, the dwelling served as both an Ordinary and as a residence. It began as the "Thomas Smith Ordinary" and was later named the "Washington Smith Ordinary".
It was their last born son, Thomas Washington Smith, husband of Harriott Godwin Borland, who had the Confederate Statute erected in the Cedar Hill cemetery, Suffolk, Virginia.
Death: in Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia, burial likely (?) in son's burial grounds, to wit: The Robert R. Smith burial lot, also known as Smith Family Cemetery, is shown located currently south, along Arthur drive of 8441 Arthur drive, reported as in the land between the then Somerton Methodist Church and the Robert R. Smith house at current address of 8441 Arthur drive. Robert Riddick Smith, an innkeeper and business man was buried in the said cemetery after his c.1850(sic, 1845) murder in Suffolk. His wife Sarah Jane Powell Smith was buried there as well as his eldest son, Washington C Smith ~ ~ now a field without markers when viewed December 2012 by Jeff Rau.
Father: Thomas Smith b:
Mother: Anne (currently unknown) b:
Marriage 1: Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham b: 13 OCT 1781, likely (?) Gates county, North Carolina.
Married: 18 DEC 1798 Gates county, North Carolina.
Known Children
Margaret Anne Smith b: 10 OCT 1799 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Henning Tembte Smith b: 3 JAN 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Jane Smith b: 1 AUG 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Robert Riddick Smith b: 16 JAN 1808 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Smith b: 13 NOV 1810 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Sophia Emmeline Smith b: 3 JAN 1813 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Anne Cunningham Smith b: 21 MAY 1816 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia (maybe (?), 21 DEC 1815).
Marriage 2: Mary Powell b: around 1800 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Married: around 1820 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Known Children
James Edward Smith b: 1822 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Benjamin Devania Smith b: 14 FEB 1824 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Elizabeth Frances Smith b: 1827 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Cornelia Smith b: 25 FEB 1830 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Washington Smith b: 1 JAN 1832 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Veteran: War of 1812
h/o 1st Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham, 2nd Mary Powell.
CLICK on images for caption.
NOTE: All, save this one of the buildings associated with La'Fayette's 1825 brief visit have disappeared through the years--a disastrous fire destroyed the Castle Inn, the Nansemond County Courthouse, and the Holladay Hotel in 1837 and the Indian Queen is also gone [as of 1890]. Only Washington Smith's Ordinary [Somerton Inn], has survived almost untouched through the years, but it is now threatened to be demolished by the City of Suffolk. The City of Suffolk has, around August 2012, ordered the Smith home, "Somerton Inn"(Ordinary), at 8442 Arthur drive, be demolished if extensive repairs are not made, to wit: Owned privately and occupied until just recently, the original portion of the Ordinary [Somerton Inn], is solid and virtually unchanged from its early use as a tavern. However, the deteriorated condition of the addition, when brought to the attention of the City of Suffolk, precipitated an order for extensive repairs to be made within 30 days or the City would demolish the entire building, sending the bill to the property owners who are descendants of the tavernkeeper, Washington Smith. . It is most encourging when we discovered the Inn being restored on visit January 2013, with, in part, funds from the very active Suffolk-Nasemond County Historical Society.
Birth: in Nansemond county, Virginia, some say, 1777 others 1779.
~ Capt, in 59th Virginia Regiment during War of 1812 ~
The village of Somerton began in the 17th century when Sir Thomas Jernigan (also spelled Jarnigan) of Somerleyton, Suffolk county, England came to Virginia and was granted 250 acres in what now is Suffolk. New Norfolk County is said to have been formed in 1636 from that part of Elizabeth City County lying to the south of Hampton Roads, and extinguished in 1637 by the formation of Lower Norfolk and Upper Norfolk Counties. Upper Norfolk County was extinguished in 1646 (?) when Nansemond County was organized following legislation the previous year. My 10th great,grandfather, Robert Boggus, is documented 1 April 1644 as living in Nansemond county ("Norfolk. Co. Va., Deed Bk, B: 37a"). Nansemond is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1972 until 1974. It was created from Nansemond County, Virginia, and is now part of the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia. Its reported that the first Post Road between Suffolk and 1722 created Edenton [North Carolina] was established c1758. This trail traveled through Somerton and Salem in Virginia, and to Pipkin's, Inn in Edenton.
Census: 1820, age 26 to 44 Nansemond county, Virginia, widowed with three sons, four daughters, 21 slaves & two free persons of color, operating an Ordinary, currently at 8442 Arthur drive, pictured at right. Its said that Washington's father, Thomas, wanted to keep the business in the family, so he passed the 'Ordinary' down to his son and second wife, Mary (Powell) Smith.
It was on July 12th, 1884 that widowed La'Fayette, with son and his entourage, boarded at Le Havre arriving in Staten Island, New York August 15, 1824, at invitation of the United States Congress, which was a personal triumph for Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last surviving general of the Revolutionary War. (United States celebrated his two hundreth birthday by issuing a commemorative postage stamp with his likeness) From 1824 to 1825, Lafayette visited all twenty-four states in the Union. Along the way he was treated to numerous dinners and balls in his honor. He listened to speeches, he attended plays, he visited Revolutionary War veterans, following a visit to Saint Louis in recently created Missouri, he went up river to Nashville where he visited Andrew Jackson, who was fresh from a disturbing defeat for the presidency, returned to 'The Hermitage' in Nashville to plot his successful come back for next election. Jackson showed the pair of French made pistol La'fayette had given George Washington early in the Revolution which had later been presented to Andrew Jackson who in turn, willed them to Georges Washington La'Fayette, the Marquises' son, and he laid the cornerstones to several monuments to the American Revolution including monument of the Golden Anniversary for Bunker Hill, June 1825. No expense was spared in celebrating the return of the hero. He was uniformly welcomed and celebrated as a returning hero. In his memoirs, Walt Whitman would recall his excitement, as a child in Brooklyn, when La'Fayette pressed him against his heart. La'Fayette navigated the Hudson, the Mississippi and the Alabama rivers on steamboats, and took a ride on a balloon in New York; he received gifts ranging from swords to Indian artifacts to a black bear, which was sent to France and became the first of its kind to be displayed in a French zoo. He was also awarded by The College of William and Mary on October 20, 1824, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Late in his trip, he was voted, by the U.S. Congress, the sum of $200,000 and a township of land located in Tallahassee, Florida to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant.
La'Fayette was enjoying his tour afer trips from Washington city following February 9, 1825, when Adams won the presidency by Henry Clay giving him his electoral votes, ~ ~ to to visit his friend, George Washington's tomb, to Williamsburg, then to relive the victory of Yorktown, after which to visit several days with old friend Thomas Jefferson at >Monticello, next to dine with James and Dolly Madison at their Montpelier, then finally to return to Norfolk by steamboat where he had previously spent October 19 to 27, 1824, leaving there by stage coach for Suffolk to spend Friday night, February 25, 1825 at Castle Inn where in Suffolk, Nansemond county, Virginia a welcoming speech by Joseph Prentis,II following introduction by John Cohoon then fed fine food prepared at the Holladay Hotel across street from the Castle Inn, so after his dinner, he spent Friday night at Castle Inn, which now, following 1837 fire, is 341 north Main street, known as the Joseph Prentis home. He ventured on southwesterly another eighteen miles, stopping in Somerton for a lunch around two in the afternoon on his journey to Henry Ramsey's Indian Queen Hotel in Murfreesboro, Hertford county, North Carolina for another night of rest then he was escorted on west to Jackson, Northampton county, where the first Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court John Lewis Taylor was holding court.
Washington and Mary were the Somerton Inn Keepers (reportedly still, one hundred eighty seven (187) years later, in 2012, owned by the Smith's descendents), Saturday, 26th February 1825, when Marquis de La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last of the American Revolution's Generals, at his 1834 demise, stopped by their ordinary for an afternoon lunch, around two o'clock, being served the fine food they had become known for, with drinks in their basement kitchen, dinning and bar area where Dr Thomas Wood Borland's group met him to escort them on his journey south-west, where their coaches and wagons were nearly mired down in the muddy road of North Carolina's February winter weather, on way to the Indian Queen hotel/inn with another gala-event taking place into the wee hours of the following morning before he got some sleep.
NOTE: The back part of the house, Ordinary, had not been added in 1825, nor had the porch. The front was then the side opposite the chimneys. Each chimney has a large fireplace at the base where the cooking was done, the cellar being the kitchen. SOURCE: the Daily Roanoke-Chowan News "The Roanoke-Chowan Story" Ch 14.
With completion of his twenty-four state tour the Marquis de La'fayette embarked on the steamboat Mount Vernon, 7th of September 1825 for the trip downriver to board newly constructed U S frigate Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean for his return voyage to France, with the $200,000 dollars given him by the United States Congress.
Census: 1830, age 50 to 59 Nansemond county, Virginia with 2nd wife, three sons, six daughters, two free persons of color & 29 slaves, operating Somerton Inn, an Ordinary.
Had been appointed afer 1832, and served as Postmaster of Somerton.
Somerton Inn remains today within Somerton Historic District, as one of its oldest structures. However, view NOTE at top of page!
The late -18th โ early -19th century Washington Smith Ordinary is among the oldest and most impressive houses in the district. The dwelling is located at the northwest intersection of Pittmantown Road and Arthur Drive. The two-story wood frame dwelling with Greek Revival, Federal, and Georgian influences rests on a brick foundation and features a cellar that was once an English basement.
This pre-1800 Ordinary at 8442 Arthur Drive, exhibits many unique architectural details, including a double chimney with double shoulders and a pent roof with a window, reminiscent of Georgian style, a lunette window in the attic, and a three-part window on the second story facing Arthur Drive. The interior of the house is a side-hall plan and features detailing reminiscent of the Federal era. The mantles throughout the first floor feature elaborate detailing for such a rural dwelling. Throughout history, the dwelling served as both an Ordinary and as a residence. It began as the "Thomas Smith Ordinary" and was later named the "Washington Smith Ordinary".
It was their last born son, Thomas Washington Smith, husband of Harriott Godwin Borland, who had the Confederate Statute erected in the Cedar Hill cemetery, Suffolk, Virginia.
Death: in Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia, burial likely (?) in son's burial grounds, to wit: The Robert R. Smith burial lot, also known as Smith Family Cemetery, is shown located currently south, along Arthur drive of 8441 Arthur drive, reported as in the land between the then Somerton Methodist Church and the Robert R. Smith house at current address of 8441 Arthur drive. Robert Riddick Smith, an innkeeper and business man was buried in the said cemetery after his c.1850(sic, 1845) murder in Suffolk. His wife Sarah Jane Powell Smith was buried there as well as his eldest son, Washington C Smith ~ ~ now a field without markers when viewed December 2012 by Jeff Rau.
Father: Thomas Smith b:
Mother: Anne (currently unknown) b:
Marriage 1: Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham b: 13 OCT 1781, likely (?) Gates county, North Carolina.
Married: 18 DEC 1798 Gates county, North Carolina.
Known Children
Margaret Anne Smith b: 10 OCT 1799 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Henning Tembte Smith b: 3 JAN 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Jane Smith b: 1 AUG 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Robert Riddick Smith b: 16 JAN 1808 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Smith b: 13 NOV 1810 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Sophia Emmeline Smith b: 3 JAN 1813 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Anne Cunningham Smith b: 21 MAY 1816 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia (maybe (?), 21 DEC 1815).
Marriage 2: Mary Powell b: around 1800 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Married: around 1820 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Known Children
James Edward Smith b: 1822 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Benjamin Devania Smith b: 14 FEB 1824 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Elizabeth Frances Smith b: 1827 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Cornelia Smith b: 25 FEB 1830 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Washington Smith b: 1 JAN 1832 Nansemond county, Virginia.
h/o 1st Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham, 2nd Mary Powell.
CLICK on images for caption.
NOTE: All, save this one of the buildings associated with La'Fayette's 1825 brief visit have disappeared through the years--a disastrous fire destroyed the Castle Inn, the Nansemond County Courthouse, and the Holladay Hotel in 1837 and the Indian Queen is also gone [as of 1890]. Only Washington Smith's Ordinary [Somerton Inn], has survived almost untouched through the years, but it is now threatened to be demolished by the City of Suffolk. The City of Suffolk has, around August 2012, ordered the Smith home, "Somerton Inn"(Ordinary), at 8442 Arthur drive, be demolished if extensive repairs are not made, to wit: Owned privately and occupied until just recently, the original portion of the Ordinary [Somerton Inn], is solid and virtually unchanged from its early use as a tavern. However, the deteriorated condition of the addition, when brought to the attention of the City of Suffolk, precipitated an order for extensive repairs to be made within 30 days or the City would demolish the entire building, sending the bill to the property owners who are descendants of the tavernkeeper, Washington Smith. . It is most encourging when we discovered the Inn being restored on visit January 2013, with, in part, funds from the very active Suffolk-Nasemond County Historical Society.
Birth: in Nansemond county, Virginia, some say, 1777 others 1779.
~ Capt, in 59th Virginia Regiment during War of 1812 ~
The village of Somerton began in the 17th century when Sir Thomas Jernigan (also spelled Jarnigan) of Somerleyton, Suffolk county, England came to Virginia and was granted 250 acres in what now is Suffolk. New Norfolk County is said to have been formed in 1636 from that part of Elizabeth City County lying to the south of Hampton Roads, and extinguished in 1637 by the formation of Lower Norfolk and Upper Norfolk Counties. Upper Norfolk County was extinguished in 1646 (?) when Nansemond County was organized following legislation the previous year. My 10th great,grandfather, Robert Boggus, is documented 1 April 1644 as living in Nansemond county ("Norfolk. Co. Va., Deed Bk, B: 37a"). Nansemond is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1972 until 1974. It was created from Nansemond County, Virginia, and is now part of the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia. Its reported that the first Post Road between Suffolk and 1722 created Edenton [North Carolina] was established c1758. This trail traveled through Somerton and Salem in Virginia, and to Pipkin's, Inn in Edenton.
Census: 1820, age 26 to 44 Nansemond county, Virginia, widowed with three sons, four daughters, 21 slaves & two free persons of color, operating an Ordinary, currently at 8442 Arthur drive, pictured at right. Its said that Washington's father, Thomas, wanted to keep the business in the family, so he passed the 'Ordinary' down to his son and second wife, Mary (Powell) Smith.
It was on July 12th, 1884 that widowed La'Fayette, with son and his entourage, boarded at Le Havre arriving in Staten Island, New York August 15, 1824, at invitation of the United States Congress, which was a personal triumph for Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last surviving general of the Revolutionary War. (United States celebrated his two hundreth birthday by issuing a commemorative postage stamp with his likeness) From 1824 to 1825, Lafayette visited all twenty-four states in the Union. Along the way he was treated to numerous dinners and balls in his honor. He listened to speeches, he attended plays, he visited Revolutionary War veterans, following a visit to Saint Louis in recently created Missouri, he went up river to Nashville where he visited Andrew Jackson, who was fresh from a disturbing defeat for the presidency, returned to 'The Hermitage' in Nashville to plot his successful come back for next election. Jackson showed the pair of French made pistol La'fayette had given George Washington early in the Revolution which had later been presented to Andrew Jackson who in turn, willed them to Georges Washington La'Fayette, the Marquises' son, and he laid the cornerstones to several monuments to the American Revolution including monument of the Golden Anniversary for Bunker Hill, June 1825. No expense was spared in celebrating the return of the hero. He was uniformly welcomed and celebrated as a returning hero. In his memoirs, Walt Whitman would recall his excitement, as a child in Brooklyn, when La'Fayette pressed him against his heart. La'Fayette navigated the Hudson, the Mississippi and the Alabama rivers on steamboats, and took a ride on a balloon in New York; he received gifts ranging from swords to Indian artifacts to a black bear, which was sent to France and became the first of its kind to be displayed in a French zoo. He was also awarded by The College of William and Mary on October 20, 1824, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Late in his trip, he was voted, by the U.S. Congress, the sum of $200,000 and a township of land located in Tallahassee, Florida to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant.
La'Fayette was enjoying his tour afer trips from Washington city following February 9, 1825, when Adams won the presidency by Henry Clay giving him his electoral votes, ~ ~ to to visit his friend, George Washington's tomb, to Williamsburg, then to relive the victory of Yorktown, after which to visit several days with old friend Thomas Jefferson at >Monticello, next to dine with James and Dolly Madison at their Montpelier, then finally to return to Norfolk by steamboat where he had previously spent October 19 to 27, 1824, leaving there by stage coach for Suffolk to spend Friday night, February 25, 1825 at Castle Inn where in Suffolk, Nansemond county, Virginia a welcoming speech by Joseph Prentis,II following introduction by John Cohoon then fed fine food prepared at the Holladay Hotel across street from the Castle Inn, so after his dinner, he spent Friday night at Castle Inn, which now, following 1837 fire, is 341 north Main street, known as the Joseph Prentis home. He ventured on southwesterly another eighteen miles, stopping in Somerton for a lunch around two in the afternoon on his journey to Henry Ramsey's Indian Queen Hotel in Murfreesboro, Hertford county, North Carolina for another night of rest then he was escorted on west to Jackson, Northampton county, where the first Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court John Lewis Taylor was holding court.
Washington and Mary were the Somerton Inn Keepers (reportedly still, one hundred eighty seven (187) years later, in 2012, owned by the Smith's descendents), Saturday, 26th February 1825, when Marquis de La'Fayette (1757-1834), the last of the American Revolution's Generals, at his 1834 demise, stopped by their ordinary for an afternoon lunch, around two o'clock, being served the fine food they had become known for, with drinks in their basement kitchen, dinning and bar area where Dr Thomas Wood Borland's group met him to escort them on his journey south-west, where their coaches and wagons were nearly mired down in the muddy road of North Carolina's February winter weather, on way to the Indian Queen hotel/inn with another gala-event taking place into the wee hours of the following morning before he got some sleep.
NOTE: The back part of the house, Ordinary, had not been added in 1825, nor had the porch. The front was then the side opposite the chimneys. Each chimney has a large fireplace at the base where the cooking was done, the cellar being the kitchen. SOURCE: the Daily Roanoke-Chowan News "The Roanoke-Chowan Story" Ch 14.
With completion of his twenty-four state tour the Marquis de La'fayette embarked on the steamboat Mount Vernon, 7th of September 1825 for the trip downriver to board newly constructed U S frigate Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean for his return voyage to France, with the $200,000 dollars given him by the United States Congress.
Census: 1830, age 50 to 59 Nansemond county, Virginia with 2nd wife, three sons, six daughters, two free persons of color & 29 slaves, operating Somerton Inn, an Ordinary.
Had been appointed afer 1832, and served as Postmaster of Somerton.
Somerton Inn remains today within Somerton Historic District, as one of its oldest structures. However, view NOTE at top of page!
The late -18th โ early -19th century Washington Smith Ordinary is among the oldest and most impressive houses in the district. The dwelling is located at the northwest intersection of Pittmantown Road and Arthur Drive. The two-story wood frame dwelling with Greek Revival, Federal, and Georgian influences rests on a brick foundation and features a cellar that was once an English basement.
This pre-1800 Ordinary at 8442 Arthur Drive, exhibits many unique architectural details, including a double chimney with double shoulders and a pent roof with a window, reminiscent of Georgian style, a lunette window in the attic, and a three-part window on the second story facing Arthur Drive. The interior of the house is a side-hall plan and features detailing reminiscent of the Federal era. The mantles throughout the first floor feature elaborate detailing for such a rural dwelling. Throughout history, the dwelling served as both an Ordinary and as a residence. It began as the "Thomas Smith Ordinary" and was later named the "Washington Smith Ordinary".
It was their last born son, Thomas Washington Smith, husband of Harriott Godwin Borland, who had the Confederate Statute erected in the Cedar Hill cemetery, Suffolk, Virginia.
Death: in Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia, burial likely (?) in son's burial grounds, to wit: The Robert R. Smith burial lot, also known as Smith Family Cemetery, is shown located currently south, along Arthur drive of 8441 Arthur drive, reported as in the land between the then Somerton Methodist Church and the Robert R. Smith house at current address of 8441 Arthur drive. Robert Riddick Smith, an innkeeper and business man was buried in the said cemetery after his c.1850(sic, 1845) murder in Suffolk. His wife Sarah Jane Powell Smith was buried there as well as his eldest son, Washington C Smith ~ ~ now a field without markers when viewed December 2012 by Jeff Rau.
Father: Thomas Smith b:
Mother: Anne (currently unknown) b:
Marriage 1: Nancy Anne Riddick Cunningham b: 13 OCT 1781, likely (?) Gates county, North Carolina.
Married: 18 DEC 1798 Gates county, North Carolina.
Known Children
Margaret Anne Smith b: 10 OCT 1799 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Henning Tembte Smith b: 3 JAN 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Jane Smith b: 1 AUG 1805 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Robert Riddick Smith b: 16 JAN 1808 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Smith b: 13 NOV 1810 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Sophia Emmeline Smith b: 3 JAN 1813 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia.
Anne Cunningham Smith b: 21 MAY 1816 Somerton, Nansemond county, Virginia (maybe (?), 21 DEC 1815).
Marriage 2: Mary Powell b: around 1800 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Married: around 1820 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Known Children
James Edward Smith b: 1822 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Benjamin Devania Smith b: 14 FEB 1824 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Elizabeth Frances Smith b: 1827 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Mary Cornelia Smith b: 25 FEB 1830 Nansemond county, Virginia.
Thomas Washington Smith b: 1 JAN 1832 Nansemond county, Virginia.
