The Lewis Legacy Descendants of Betty and

Lewis Coat of Arms: Kenmore VOL. 7, NO. 1 Publisher: Michael Frost, PhD Editor: Sandra Duffy SPRING 2017

The Lewis Family Descendants actively support the Dear Lewis Family, colonial home of Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis in Fredericksburg, , known as the I am John Fielding Lewis, Jr., Kenmore Mansion. President General of the Lewis Family Descendants. Our membership includes, primarily, descendants of Fielding Lewis, Sr. and Betty Washington Lewis, On behalf of the Lewis Family ’s only sister. The Lewis Family Descendants, I extend great Descendants meet annually at sites related to Betty thanks and gratitude to Larry and Fielding, allowing for discussion of our lines of Holmes for his fine leadership descent with each other. as President General for the last two years. I wish you the If you are interested in joining us as a documented, very best of health and happiness Larry! lineage member, the process for membership is discussed on our website: Please note the new slate of officers (page 2) that were http://lewis-family-descendants.com voted in at our meeting in October. We cordially invite you to join.

What a wonderful time we had last year at Warner We hope you will join us at the Heritage Weekend in Hall! If you were unable to attend our gathering last October. October, you missed a truly magical experience. Best regards,

Our family gathering for 2017 is scheduled for John Fielding Lewis, Jr. September 15-17 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We like President General the cooler temperatures in October! We are anxious to see the construction progress of George and Betty Washington’s childhood home at . All the details of this event will be sent as the date gets closer SAVE THE DATE but in the meantime, please mark the dates on your calendar and count on joining us. It is always a great Next LFD Heritage Weekend pleasure to spend time with everyone and enjoy the September 15-17, 2017 sights. Friday through Sunday I hope you are reading this newsletter because you are Fredericksburg, Virginia interested in the Lewis family, or, you are already a documented lineage member.

Table of Contents President General’s Message ...... Page 1 Possibly a Park ...... Page 2 Lewis Family Descendants’ Officers ...... Page 2 Photos / Lewis Family Heritage Weekend ...... Page 3 President General, John Fielding Lewis, Jr...... Page 2 Why go to Warner Hall? ...... Page 4 Howell Lewis, Jr………Insert

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Lewis Family Descendants Officers President General

2016-2018 John Fielding Lewis, Jr.

John grew up in the Texas Panhandle and earned BBA President General John Fielding Lewis, Jr. and MBA degrees from West Texas State A&M

1st Vice President General Stephen Patrick Holmes University. After working a few years in the banking industry, John began a long career in the oil and gas nd 2 Vice President General Sandra Duffy exploration and production industry. He spent most of 3rd Vice President General Linda Reilly his career working for exploration and production companies in Houston, Texas. John is currently Past President General Michael David Frost, Ph.D. President of Fieldcorp Capital, LLC, an oil and gas Lawrence Tayloe Holmes venture funding entity. Secretary James Bird

John married his high school sweetheart, Debbie, in Treasurer Stephen Patrick Holmes 1974. They have two children, Sara and Fielding, and Registrar Michael David Frost, Ph.D. six grandchildren. John and Debbie currently reside in Chaplain James Bird the high country of Colorado where John enjoys fishing, camping and off road adventures. John is a Charter Historian Linda Reilly Member of the Lewis Family Descendants and his lineal Editor: The Lewis Legacy Sandra Duffy descent is from Howell Lewis.

Web Master John Fielding Lewis, Jr.

Possibly a Park….

The Fredericksburg Gun Manufactory was established in July 1775. Built by Fielding Lewis and Charles Dick, it was the first such factory in the colonies to support the revolutionary cause. It produced a range of firearms, from small arms for county militias to its state of the art at the time musket. This musket was modeled after the British Brown Bess, the standard infantry weapon of the day. Only a few survive. In 1783, two years after the death of Fielding Lewis, the factory closed.

Today, there is a possibility that the area around the historical marker will be developed as a park in the city of Fredericksburg.

Brown Bess British Land Pattern Musket From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia a.k.a. Brown Bess

Brown Bess is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army’s muzzle-loading smoothbore Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. A Short Land Pattern Musket This musket was used in the era of the expansion of the British Empire and acquired symbolic importance at least as significant as its physical Type Musket importance. It was in use for over a hundred years with many Place of Origin Kingdom of Great Britain incremental changes in its design. These versions include the Long Service History Land Pattern, the Short Land Pattern, the India Pattern, the New Land Pattern Musket and the Sea Service Musket. In service British Army 1722-1838 Used by British Empire, Various The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all .75 caliber flint- Native American tribes, lock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire’s land USA, Sweden, Mexico, forces from 1722 until 1838, when they were superseded by a Empire of Brazil, Zula percussion cap smoothbore musket. The British Ordinance System Kingdom converted many flintlocks into the new percussion system known as Wars Indian Wars, Maroon the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the Tower of London Wars, Dummer’s War, destroyed many muskets before they could be converted. Still, the War of the Austrian Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century. Succession

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Photos from the Lewis Family Heritage Weekend October 18-20, 2016

The John Lewis Gravesite Near the Poropotank Creek in King and Queen County

Our group was very fortunate to have a guide for our visit to the gravesite. We went to the King and Queen Courthouse Tavern and met local Warner descendant, Dr. Augustine Warner Lewis, who escorted us to the site and answered questions.

The gravesite is near the Poropotank Creek in King and Queen County. The land had been patented in the 1640s. John Lewis settled there in 1653. Young John Lewis, II, was living there in 1676 at the time of Bacon’s Rebellion. The Lewis property King and Queen Courthouse suffered damage done by Bacon’s marauding troops. Tavern Museum

P a g e | 4 Why We Stayed at Warner Hall for Our Heritage Weekend

Warner Hall is on land that is ancestral for Fielding her family made their home at Warner Hall from Lewis and both of his two wives, Catherine and about 1702. Her son, John Lewis, II, married Betty Washington. It is a very few miles from the Frances Fielding around 1718. Their second son, original English settlement at Jamestown – perhaps Fielding was born in 1725. John Lewis, II, raised twenty miles as a very direct crow flies and is on a his family at Warner Hall. Fielding lived there until, “neck” of land between the York and Rappa- around the age of 20, when he moved to hannock Rivers. Warner Hall is by a very short Fredericksburg to learn and assist his father with his river, the Severn, named after a river in western businesses. England. Another granddaughter, Mildred, married Lawrence Augustine Warner, I, a young man from England, Washington around 1688. Their son, Augustine was granted land for having transported new settlers Washington, married Mary Ball, and their son to Virginia. In 1642 he recorded the patent for the George was born in 1732. Their eldest surviving original parcel of what became the Warner Hall daughter was Betty, born in 1733. She became the estate. second wife of Fielding Lewis.

One of his granddaughters, Elizabeth Warner, Just before our last dinner at Warner Hall, we were married John Lewis, I, around 1690-1692. She had fortunate to have an excellent presentation by Thane three brothers who, due to the English tradition of Harpole, one of the co-authors of the book Warner leaving the estate to the eldest male heir, would Hall: The Story of a Great Plantation. The book have typically inherited Warner Hall. was produced as a result of the extensive archaeological work that has been done at Warner However, none of those brothers survived. So it Hall. happened that Elizabeth inherited the property and

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