Northumberland House
Home of Jane Newman and William Presley I
and their descendants.
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"FIVE MILES NORTHEAST IS THE SITE NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE, BUILT BY THE THIRD PETER PRESLEY, WHO WAS MURDERED IN 1750. HE WAS THE LAST MALE DESCENDANT OF THE FIRST WILLIAM PRESLEY, WHO SETTLED THERE AND WHO WAS A BURGESS AS EARLY AS 1647. MANTUA, NEAR BY, WAS BUILT BY JAMES SMITH, WHO DIED IN 1832. IT IS A GOOD HOUSE OF THE OLD VIRGINIA TYPE." |
"Presley, William, was an early inhabitant of Northumberland county and was burgess in 1647, 1648. He died in 1657, leaving two sons, William (q. v.), and Peter (q. v.)"
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"Presley, William, son of William Presley (q. v.), was burgess in the long assembly 1661-1675, but was returned to Bacon's assembly in June 1676. After the restoration of Berkeley, he was again a representative and is remembered for his saying that 'he believed that the governor would have hanged half the country, if they had let him alone.'"
"Presley, Peter, son of William Presley (q. v.), was burgess for Northumberland county in 1677, 1684, 1691, also one of the justices of the county. He was the father of Peter Presley, of 'Northumberland House.'"
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"Presley, Peter, son of Peter Presley (q. v.), lived at 'Northumberland House,' Northumberland county. He was a justice of the peace and lieutenant-colonel of the militia, and a burgess for Northumberland from 1711 to 1748, about which time he was murdered by two of his white servants. His will was proved September 10, 1750. He married Winifred Griffin, daughter of Colonel Leroy Griffin, and left an only daughter, Winifred, who married Anthony Thornton. His grandson Colonel Presley Thornton, inherited all the Presley estates and was member of the council 1760-1769."
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"Thornton, Peter Presley, son of Colonel Presley Thornton, of 'Northumberland House,' was born August 10, 1750. He was a member of the house of burgesses in 1772-1774, and of the conventions of July and December, 1775. Was appointed colonel of a regiment of minute-men in 1775, but afterwards resigned to accept a position as aide-de-camp to Washington. He married Sally, daughter of Robert Throckmorton, of Gloucester county, and died in or before 1781."
From "Virginia Biography," Volume I-II by Lyon Gardiner Tyler, ed., published 1915.
"Scarcely is the broad
entrance of the big river passed when, on the left hand, the deep
waters and protected landings of Coan River invite to anchorage. On
the east bank of this inlet and looking out from its raised position
over a wide panorama stands Mantua, embodiment of all that remains of
the principal pioneer of Northumberland County on the Potomac. It is
said that the foundations of lovely Mantua are built of the ancient
bricks of the ruins of Northumberland House which rose near by on the
Potomac shore but crumbled and disappeared as have the notable family
of Presley whose seat it was. Mr. Presley probably came across the
river with the immigrants from Maryland for he appeared among the
earliest settlers and was their first representative in the House of
Burgesses in 1647. Beyond this all that appears to be known of the
doughty builder of Northumberland House is that he was murdered there
by his servants, from which gruesome history one turns with a lively
relief to the tale of Captain Harry Thornton
Captain Thornton whose
mother was a Miss Presley of this old house lived farther up the
Northern Neck on his estate called North Garden. He was, relates
Lancaster, 'a gentleman devoted to racing and other sports, in
consequence of which his estate became seriously involved. The line
between Caroline and Spotsylvania counties runs through the North
Garden yard, and the story goes that when the sheriff of either
county would come to arrest him for debt, he would simply step over
the line into the other county. One day the sheriffs of both counties
came at the same time and the gay captain's gay life of freedom
seemed doomed to be brought to a close. Appearing to give up all hope
of escape he ordered his horse (which unknown to the sheriffs was a
racing mare famous for speed) and rode quietly off between his
captors. After riding for a mile or so, he stopped, pretending to
arrange a stirrup leather, while the sheriffs went ahead for a few
yards; when, wheeling his horse about, the captain raised his hat and
with a polite "Gentlemen, I have the honour to wish you a very
good day," galloped off at a speed which the sheriffs knew they
could not equal, and so escaped.'"
From "Potomac Landings" by Paul Wilstach, published 1921.
"The public road in
Northumberland county, leading from Coan wharf in the direction of
Hull's creek, turns abruptly to the right half a mile beyond
Crowther's store, and enters upon a ridge parallel with the Potomac
shore, and is adorned on either hand by a long row of graceful young
cedars. The road at this point intersects an ancient estate of 2,500
acres of forest and river-bottom land, which is now divided into
numerous smaller farms with separate owners. A lane leading across an
open field into which a slotted gate by the roadside opens conducts
to a tenement distant several hundred yards, which is still known by
the name of the ancient homestead... 'Northumberland House'.
A grassy sod, smooth and
firm as if trodden by the feet of bygone generations, numerous
storm-battered trees, and the ruinous foundations of a building, mark
the spot where, in the early half of the century a spacious and
elegant mansion stood. A venerable and decaying barn is seen to the
right nearby, and farther in the opposite direction, near a towering
poplar, is the negro graveyard. Near the ruin stands a small framed
building, whose dusky tenants kindle their morning fires, go forth to
their daily tasks, or whistle their idle aire, heedless alike of the
future prosperity and the departed glories of this ancient home.
The mansion whose ruins are
to be seen here probably dates from about the close of the war of
1812-14, during which the elegant home, which had long adorned the
estate, was burned. The road which led to the earlier mansion was
some distance above the present site of the Northumberland House, and
after descending the wooden hills it passed for a mile or more across
a beautiful plain in the direction of a short inlet of the Potomac
called Cod's Creek, and so named for Colonel St. Leger Cod, who
located here for a few years at the first settling of the country,
and then removed to Maryland. Two finely-shaded lanes are said to
have afforded access to this early home, and one of them, with its
long rows of venerable cedars, is still recalled by a few of the
oldest residents of the vicinity.
The situation of this early
building was almost within gunshot of the above-named creek, and
within easy hearing of the waves breaking on the Potomac beach.
Fragments of broken bricks, scattered among the furrows, are well-nigh
the only signs remaining to aid me in locating the site of the
long-vanished mansion. A graveyard containing the fallen supports and
fractured pieces of some early tombs, with numerous later slabs
intact, is to be seen within afew rods of the old home. It occupies a
rounded knoll on the margin of the creek, beneath a cluster of trees,
near the centre of which stands a sycamore of venerable mien and
gigantic size, whose crown is reared above all surrounding objects,
as if offering a land-mark to the passing sailors, and extending its
mighty arms over the graves, as if to implore the mercy of Heaven, or
avert its wrath, for those who sleep beneath it.
The hills which one
descends in reaching this spot by the present roadway rise somewhat
abruptly from the plain, and extend for miles in a ridge of forest,
broken at intervals by deep ravines and hollows of thicket and
bramble. Here formerly was found the choicest ground for hunting, and
along these hills the resounding horn was often heard, and the
startled deer fell victim to the marksman's arm, or was chased by the
hounds to its death. An ex-sheriff of the county, who was a votary of
the chase in his early manhood, recalls a wintry morning, when six
deer broke cover at once before the dogs in the sedge under these
hills. They, scattering, sought to escape on the ice, some on Coan,
some on Cod's Creek, and one, boldly adventurous, on the wide frozen
surface of the Potomac. Their frantic efforts at the approach of the
dogs made them slip and their bodies dragged ashore.
These woodland hills are
nearly opposite to Point Lookout, and possess a pathetic interest as
the outline of Dixie on which so many thousands of imprisoned
Confederates were wont to fix their wistful gazes. Alas! for many
thousand of them who died in that prison camp, this stretch of the
Southland, dimly seen in the distance, was the last on which their
eyes were permitted to rest...."
From "Northumberland House - Ancient Seat of the Preslys and Thorntons" by Rev. George W. Beale, D.D.
"On the Potomac, and
within sight of the bay, are the remains of an old graveyard,
belonging to what has always gone by the name of the 'Northumberland
House.' The place was originally settled and a house built on it by a
Mr. Presley, one of the earliest settlers, who was murdered in it by
his own servants. It was afterward owned by Mr. Presley Thornton, who
lies buried there. The following extract from the letter of a friend
is worthy of insertion: --
'I have also, according to
promise, visited the graveyard of old Northumberland House, and found
the remains of but one tombstone. This, although erected of the
heaviest materials, has been so much mutilated by lightning and the
waste of time, that nothing more can be deciphered than that it was
erected to the memory of Presley Thornton, who was elected in early
life to the House of Burgesses from the county of Northumberland,
which office he held until 1760, when he was appointed one of the
Council of State for this Colony; and that he filled both offices
with great credit to himself and to the public emolument. He departed
this life on the 8th of December, 1769, in the forty-eigth year of
his age, having enjoyed all the chief honours of his country.'
To this I add that, in the
absence of the vestry-books and court-records, I find that at an
early period the Lees, Presleys, Poythresses, Kenners, Thorntons,
Newtons, &c. were the leading persons in Northumberland."
From "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia" by William Meade, published 1891.
"'On Friday last James McGuire for murder and William Simmons for robbery (suppos'd an accomplice in the murder of Col. Presley) were executed in this city. They both behaved penitently, and confesed the facts for which they died'. - Virginia Gazette, January 24, 1751. Colonel Presley thus mentioned was Colonel Peter Presley, of 'Northumberland House', who was murdered by his own servants. He was the last of his name in Northumberland. His daughter and heiress, Winifred, married Anthony Thornton, of Stafford county, and was mother of Hon. Presley Thornton, of the colonial Council, who died December 8, 1769"
From "William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine", July 1899.
