Chestnut Hill
by Debbie Robison
November 2003
[Note: The following is an excerpt.  The full graphic-laden report Chestnut Hill, A Preliminary Structure Report may be reviewed at the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Virginia.]
INTRODUCTION
Location
Chestnut HillChestnut Hill is located at 13259 Chestnut Hill Lane, Lucketts, in Loudoun County, Virginia. The property is bordered by Route 15 to the north, a spring branch to the east (with another parcel held by the owners of Chestnut Hill to the east of the branch), rural residential land to the south, and rural residential land to the west.
The house and outbuildings are situated three-fourths the way up a hillock, part of the Catoctin Mountain range. The major transportation route historically, as well as currently, is Route 15, though known earlier as the Road to Point of Rocks.
Method
This preliminary structure report was prepared as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Historical Archaeology HIS-180 course offered by Northern Virginia Community College and taught by Dr. David Clark.
Primary source records, including deeds, will, chancery, and tax records, etc., were researched at the Loudoun County Courthouse, the Thomas Balch Library, and other locations. Two site visits were conducted; the first concentrating on the mansion interior and the second on the site, outbuildings, and extant features.
The deed and will research was successful, and yielded a chain of title back to the northern neck grant for the property. Tax records were researched to determine construction dates. Since construction was completed prior to 1820 when Virginia counties were required to assess building values separately, the tax records were unable to provide the desired data.
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
Indian Settlements
In a region along the Potomac River that would one day be settled by colonists,  Franz Louis Michel traversed and mapped the area in 1707, depicting on his map an Indian long house in Maryland adjacent to Conoy Island. Here on Conoy, the Piscataway Indians had established a fort in 1699 to enjoy the benefits of a supply of fresh fish. Christopher de Graffenried met them in 1712 on his exploration of the Shenandoah Valley and climbed Sugarloaf Mountain to draw his own map of the area. The Piscataways remained on Conoy until the signing of the Treaty of Albany in 1722. [1]
Proprietor’s land grants in the area used Indian landmarks in survey descriptions. The meets and bounds of Francis Awbrey’s 1728 patent along the Potomac at Point of Rocks used a landmark described as  “ a great heap of stones called an Indian grave.”[2] Catesby Cocke’s 1731 patent used a point “near the Indian fort.”[3]
The grave was located near the Potomac north of what would become Chestnut Hill. The fort was located in the Catoctin Mountains to the southwest of the Chestnut Hill land.
Area Colonial Settlements
Thomas Albin, Samuel Thacker, and William King obtained the earliest Proprietor’s land grant in the area east of the Catoctin Mountains and north of Goose Creek in January 1724 along the Potomac River.[4]
The fertile land along the river was the first to be granted, primarily to tidewater area land speculators who established quarters there. The earliest known area resident was a man named John Tuton who was already living as a squatter on land in 1728 when Awbrey obtained his patent, a point of which terminates “ near the place where John Tuton lives on.” By 1742, Tuton no longer lived there.[5]
William Hawlin was another early grantee along the Potomac.[6] His wife, possibly after his death, was granted 416 acres in her own name.[7] Margaret Hawlin was frequently referred to as the widow Hawlin. She married into the Sinclair family, probably to Amos Sinclair since he attempted to re-patent her land in 1742. With a bit of amusing irony, she is sometimes referred to as Saintclare in the will books. The Sinclairs established a strong foothold in the area and their name can be seen on both the 1737 and 1747 maps of the Northern Neck of Virginia.[8] The land where Chestnut Hill would be built is located on the map near the “ y” in Conoy.
The Sinclair family lived near one another on land that would one day encompass the Chestnut Hill tract. John Sinclair, possibly Margaret’s son, was granted a tract nearby on the Potomac in 1776.[9] Margaret’s daughter Elizabeth Morris lived on the lower portion of Margaret’s patented land while her daughter Mary Richardson lived adjacent to the west on land that was patented in 1742 by David Richardson.[10] It is on the Richardson patent that the Chestnut Hill house would be built.
The Great Awakening
During a period of religious resurgence, termed “ The Great Awakening” by historians, many Pennsylvanians emigrated to the region in search of land to farm in an area where they could worship according to their own beliefs. Historians frequently acknowledge the immigration of the Quakers to Waterford, the Scotch-Irish to the Irish Corner, and the Pennsylvania Germans to Lovettsville. Another group, the English Baptists, also followed the paths from Pennsylvania through Maryland to northern Loudoun County.
Many Baptists organized to move to northern Loudoun, and once here, they built a meeting house called New Valley on land belonging to William Jones. In 1767, the church was constituted as a branch of the Ketocton Baptist Association.  Their spiritual leader was Joseph Thomas, who along with David Thomas, had organized the Little River Meeting. Joseph Thomas was born in Wales and immigrated to America and Berks County, Pennsylvania with his family. He was from Great Valley in Pennsylvania, and it is supposed that is how New Valley derived its name. Thomas was not known as a powerful speaker and church attendance dropped. The church was represented at Association meetings until 1778; however, there was no representation again until 1793, when only 13 members were listed on the church rolls. By 1805, attendance was increasing. [11] Thomas died intestate, but his possessions, which were probated in May 1786, included a desk and library of books, evidencing an education.[12]
New Valley Baptist Meeting House, currently a residence, is located on the New Valley Church road west of Lucketts. A cemetery sits in a wooded area near the stone structure. The earliest gravestone identified was erected for Samuel Sinclair after his death on May 17, 1806, yet the second earliest gravestone identified wasn’t erected until 1830, with most of the stones dating from the 1840s to 1880s.[13] It is possible that this was not the original New Valley Baptist Meeting House structure or location, because William Jones, who donated the land at his death in 1771 never owned this parcel.[14]
William Jones, a Baptist from Pennsylvania, and his wife, Mary[15], had at least three children; James, Joshua, and Mary.[16] It has been suggested that William Jones was born in Wales, England and that his son Joshua was born in Bucks County, PA. Joshua married Hannah Todhunter of Chester, PA on 7 July 1767 in Loudoun County.[17] Perhaps their marriage was one of the first weddings to be held in the recently established New Valley Meeting House. Jones, whose occupation was farmer,[18] may have immigrated to Loudoun County as early as 1759, when a William Jones is listed in the Tithables.[19]  His son, Joshua, was a tanner.[20]
For a brief period of three years, John Trammell owned many of the Sinclair family tracts of land.[21] He subsequently sold the land to William Jones, who acquired seven tracts of land from 1761 to 1770 totaling over 1,430 acres.[22] Most of the tracts were purchased in 1761. In 1762, Jones was granted a patent for 136 acres of land 2 miles south the tract of land that would one day be called Chestnut Hill. Jones was still living on the patented tract at his death. In his will he states that he “ leaves to his loving Wife the use of the plantation I live on…”[23]
In contrast with the Quakers, William Jones, was also a slave owner. He also bequeaths to his wife, after bequeathing three cows and before bequeathing half of his hogs,  “ a Negro Wench” and “ a Servant Man Calld Rowland”. In addition to devising land to his two sons, Jones bequeaths his brass kettle and wearing apparel to Joshua and his watch to James. To Joseph Thomas, Minister and William Lewis and Thomas George, elders of New Valley Meeting, he bequeaths “ a piece of land containing 1-1/2 acres whereon the baptist Meeting House is Built. Joyning this Plantation.”[24]
Another Pennsylvanian who likely was a member of the New Valley Meeting was Leonard Ansell. He purchased land from William Jones paying with Pennsylvanian currency.[25] His daughter, Margaret Fry, was buried in the New Valley Meeting House cemetery.[26]
One year before his death, Jones sold 519 acres to fellow New Valley Meeting church elder Thomas George, though evidence suggests that George had established a tenant farm on the property several years earlier.[27]
George Leasehold & Ownership (ca. 1766­1779)
It is hypothesized that Thomas George built a stucco-covered two-story stone house ca. 1766 prior to purchasing the land.[28] This building, comprising the earliest section of the current Chestnut Hill home, exhibits the character of a 1760s Pennsylvania-German house.[29]
Items listed in George’s probate inventory suggest he may have been a carpenter and cooper. Included were “ Seven Augers, Three Saws, One Adz and three Axes, one set of Cooper Tools, Sundry Files, four Gauges and twelve Chizels, One Glue Pot with several Pools, Two drawing knives, two Hammers, eleven plains, cross cut-saw and froe, coopers hoops and rake.” The inventory also lists three additional slaves, Frank, Halis, and Pat. [30] The inventory suggests that Thomas George, or his grown son, William George who was living with him at the time, may have been personally involved in the construction of the Chestnut Hill home and provides a record of what tools may have been used to build the house.
Elder George held the land for 9 1/2 years before he sold 200 acres, including, presumably, the stone house, to Josias Clapham in 1779. George’s will, written in 1787 and proved in 1798, left one guinea to his son, William, and devised to his three sons-in-laws, brothers Isaac, John and Joseph Steers, the slaves and the remainder of his estate. George provides another example of a pious Baptist owning slaves. He owned a “ negro Wench Nan & her son Oliver” and “ a negro Girl named Dina” and a “ negro girl called fanny.”[31]
Fifty years later, the property was still being called “ The George Tract” in addition to the Chestnut Hill name.[32]
Josias Clapham Ownership (1779-1803)
During the Revolutionary War, Colonel Josias Clapham purchased 200 acres of land on which it is presumed stood by that time the small Chestnut Hill house.[33] His uncle, of the same name, had owned land in the area since obtaining a land grant in 1739.[34] Clapham also purchased an adjacent 150-acre parcel from Anthony Haynes on 12 May 1772,[35] as well as the furnace mountain parcel he bought in partnership with four Johnson brothers to build an iron furnace.[36] Clapham operated several ventures: a water mill, warehouse, and mercantile.
The Chestnut Hill house may have been expanded during the ownership of Josias Clapham. A two-story stone addition was added to the north facade of the original building. It is conceivable that a man of Clapham’s means, with a wife and three children, would live in a house larger than two rooms. Physical evidence supports a date of construction during the end of Josias Clapham’s ownership period or the early part of his son’s ownership.[37]
A survey plat dated 7 September 1834 depicts ten structures in the area of the dwelling house, most of which are located just on the other side of the adjacent property line. Their spacial relationships suggest that they are associated with the house. Since Josias Clapham was the first person to own both parcels, it can by hypothesized that many of these outbuildings were built during the Clapham ownership period.[38]
Upon his death in 1803, he willed the property including the house where he lived to his wife, Sarah, for use during her lifetime, after which the property would revert to their son, Samuel Clapham.[39]
Samuel Clapham Ownership (1803-1826)
Samuel Clapham did not succeed in business as his father did. Clapham sold off portions of the land devised to him by his father and took out loans putting the remaining property up for collateral in trust agreements. When asked his opinion of Samuel Clapham’s business management practices, an acquaintance stated that “ he was very much the reverse of a man of Judgment in the management of his affairs. he was neither prudent, or thrifty, but in my estimation, imprudent, thriftless, hasty and inconsiderate.”[40]
Clapham traveled to New York to secure a loan for $5,600 with the Chathan Fire Insurance Company and assured the company that he held title to his property free and clear; however, this was not true, as he had used the same land to secure an earlier deed of trust. Representatives of the Chathan Fire Insurance Co. visited Chestnut Hill Farm and felt that the collateral was more that sufficient and that the loan was the best the company could make in Virginia. They felt that Clapham’s high county standing was indicative of his wealth.
Notes were yielding a higher percentage interest in Virginia, which induced the company to do business there. Samuel Clapham procured a $10,000 fire insurance policy with the company for his mill and dwelling house. The premium charged was higher than generally charged in New York because the company felt that in the southern states “ a greater hazard exists arising from apprehension of the insubordination of the slave part of the population.“ The insurance rate for the mill was also high since they “ were considered quite a hazardous risk ­ insomuch as the friction of the machinery is not always well guarded against, and most mills consumed in this part of the Country are consumed from that cause.”[41]
Samuel Clapham and his wife Elizabeth did not have any children, nor did Mrs. Clapham socialize. “ Mrs. Claphams habits were very domestic indeed, she hardly ever left home & seldom was in a carriage, not once in six month.”[42]
Regardless, Clapham more than doubled the size of his dwelling house. The large two and one half story stone addition, which was covered in stucco, required a great deal of lime for construction. In 1819, Clapham entered into an agreement with John Barrett to purchase Clapham’s lime kiln on the Potomac River. As part of the deal, Barrett was to sell to Clapham the lime Clapham required “ having a great demand for lime, not only for the quantity of improvements which he was making on his property by building, but also for the purposes of agriculture.”  Clapham refused to make payment on the lime in 1820 stating that Barrett was to burn well eight pits in the term of one year “ which he did not do, nor did he burn more than two or three pits of the lime well, the lime Stone used not being well seperated from the Red Slate, so that such as was used in plaistering was stained & discolored, Blisterd & fell off and many who purchased the lime refused to pay for it because it was badly burnt and containd too much stone that would not slack.”[43]
In 1833, the Clapham dwelling house was described as “ very large…there are at least ten rooms in it, if not eleven.” The value of the house was set at “ twenty five hundred or two thousand dollars.”[44] As early as 1826, the “ Mansion House and farm” was called Chestnut Hill.[45]
Towards the end of his life, Samuel Clapham entered into a deed of trust with Richard Henderson and Thomson F. Mason, a nephew by marriage, to transfer control of the management of his estate due to the fact that “ the declining health of the said Samuel renders him unable to attend to the Management and sale of his estate and to the payments of his Debts.”[46] His obituary appeared in the Whig Obituaries on 19 September 1826.[47]
Elizabeth Clapham Ownership (1826­1833)
For six years, with the assistance of her niece’s husband, Thomson F. Mason, Elizabeth Clapham, the widow of Samuel, managed her estate. She was encumbered by her deceased husband’s debts yet took control of the businesses to increase her revenues. On April 26, 1828, Elizabeth Clapham placed an advertisement in a Leesburg newspaper headed:
To Millers, Farmers, Mechanics, and enterprising men of every description ­ Look Here![48]
Despite her efforts, she was unable to meet the debt obligations and her home, Chestnut Hill, along with the mill and other properties, was put up for auction in front of the Leesburg courthouse by trustee James W. Ford. Elizabeth Clapham was the highest bidder and paid eleven thousand five hundred dollars. On 8 December 1827, as a result of a suit brought by the representatives of William Gregg. An advertisement announcing a trust sale for a tract of land was placed in the newspaper on 5 November 1827. A dispute was voiced during the auction by Thomson F. Mason who alleged that he held an earlier note that was secured by the land and that whoever purchased the property at auction may have legal action brought against them. To resolve the dispute, several gentlemen accompanied Mr. Mason to the Clerk’s office to search the deed records. Upon finding that Mason did hold an earlier deed, the auction continued. Bidding lasted for over an hour, yet Mason had the high bid of only $2,000, which the Chatham Fire Insurance executives claimed was low because of alleged threats Mason made at the bidding. Mason was bidding on behalf of Elizabeth Clapham in whose name the property was transferred. The Chatham Fire Insurance Company filed suit in 1833 against Samuel Clapham’s administrators due to default on their note and not having recourse in collateral because the property was sold to Elizabeth Clapham in 1828.[49]
George Price / Elizabeth Clapham Price Ownership (1833­1839)
Elizabeth Clapham married George Price on 30 January 1832.[50] Price acquired a life estate in the Chestnut Hill tract in an “ anti nuptial” (pre-nuptial) understanding between himself and Richard H. Henderson who was a trustee of the property.[51] He sold the property on 16 October 1839 to his wife’s niece, Elizabeth Clapham Price Mason,[52] now widow of Thomson F. Mason.[53]
Mason Family Ownership (1839­1930)
Elizabeth Clapham Price Mason, known as Betsey, owned the property for thirty-four years until her death in 1873. During a portion of that time, she maintained her residence in Alexandria.
Oral history purports that the house was not burned following Union orders to do so because of the respect the officer in charge of carrying out the orders had for the Mason name. In addition, it is believed that an original copy of the Virginia Declaration of Rights was housed at Chestnut Hill during the Mason family ownership period until it was sold to the National Archives in 1930.[54]
Betsey willed the property to her son, Dr. J. Francis Mason in 1873.[55] He and his wife Carolina owned the property until his death in 1897. In his will, his wife Carolina and his son, Thomson F. Mason each received 1/2 interest in the property with a reversion to Thomson F. Mason should he survive his mother.[56]
During Thomson F. Mason’s ownership, he struggled with debts and frequently used the Chestnut Hill land as loan collateral, as well as personal property located at Chestnut Hill such as the Angora goats he raised for their wool and the twenty horses he owned.[57] During the Great Depression, Mason defaulted on a note with Wilber C. Hall who, as a special commissioner, foreclosed on the property and sold it at public auction. Again the house was auctioned off on the steps of the county courthouse in Leesburg. J. C. Heflin who paid $3,500 of the $23,500 purchase price placed the highest bid. Local tradition states that Mr. Heflin’s wife was not happy with the purchase, thus Heflin did not pay the balance and the property was sold to Lucy J. Gore.[58]
Gore Ownership (1930­1973)
Lucy Gore and her husband, Coleman C. Gore added modern heating, plumbing, and wiring to the house. A new closet and new stairs to the basement were also installed.[59] In addition, the stucco façade was removed to reveal the stone exterior walls.[60] Mrs. Gore canned food for storage in the cellar. Some of the canned food remains today.
Coleman Gore was the uncle of Vice President Al Gore. Discovered in the attic by the next owners was a photo of a young Coleman Gore with his younger brother, Senator Albert Gore Sr., and their sister.
The Gore’s lived in the house until about 1957, after which it sat vacant until purchased by Alton C. Echols in 1973.[61] Lucy Gore’s writing desk was sold with the house.

Echols Ownership (1973­2003)
Following his purchase, Echols conducted extensive renovations to both the house and grounds adding boxwoods to the landscaping. He placed the property up for auction in 1987; however, he did not sell the mansion house.[62]
The Echols’ have maintained the house in excellent. Recently, the house was sold to James and JoAnne Athey, who live adjacent to the property and have a family tie with the Echols. At the time of this report, completion of the transfer of the house is pending.
EXTANT FEATURES
Mansion
Building Evolutions
Phase I: Original Construction
Chestnut Hill Phase 1 The floor plan of the earliest portion of the house is approximately square in form (±20’-10” x ±20’-6”), with the doorway entrance on the west elevation off-center towards the southwest corner of the building. The building is two stories high, with one room on the first floor and another room on the second floor. It is supposed that vertical access to the loft was gained by use of a ladder in the northwest corner. The home, which commands a view of the Potomac bottomlands, was situated slightly below the crest of a hillock.
One window retains its original, wide muntins; while scratched into the glass of another window are the initials TFM, presumably for Thomson Francis Mason who owned the house from 1897 to 1930 and lived there earlier in his youth. A large brick fireplace, recently rebuilt of salvaged brick after the existing poorly fired salmon colored brick deteriorated, is centered on the southern wall. Exposed second-floor joists were hand-hewn. Tree pegs, sawn flush with the joists, suggest there had been additional structural support down the center of the second floor perpendicular to the joists.
Phase II: First Addition
Chestnut Hill Phase 2The first addition may have been built to align with the west elevation of the original structure. Its dimensions are roughly 24’-6” x 33’-5” x two stories tall. a cellar and an attic, which may have sheltered household slaves[63], add to the available space.
The woodwork in this addition is of the Asher Benjamin style and may have been added during a ca. 1830s remodeling.[64] The stone firebox exhibits distress tooling conducive with an earlier applied finish.[65]
The first-floor joists are logs dressed on two sides with bark retained on the undressed portions.
Phase III: Second Addition
Chestnut Hill Phase 3The ca. 1819 second addition is measures approximately 48’-6” x 33’4” with a 11’-2” deep porch on the east facade and a 9’-6” deep porch on the west fascade. The addition stands 2-1/2 stories tall with a cellar.
Carriage House
The carriage house, which is purported to have later been a schoolhouse, measures approximately 40’-8” x 20’-6”.  It is located within a yard of the original portion of the mansion house. Carriages could enter through the center of the structure prior to this area being enclosed. Stonework on the western elevation clearly shows the infill.
Dairy
Chestnut Hill DairyThe dairy structure was constructed of hand-hewn logs dressed on two faces. The structure measures approximately 14’-5” square.
While this structure is known as the smokehouse, its location near the steps to the spring and the construction of its stone cellar built into the hillside, lend itself to cold storage use.
Accessory Structure
The accessory structure is of relatively modern construction built of CMU blocks. Its dimensions are approximately 30’-9” x 14’-6”.
Stable
The stable is situated at the end of a carriageway. Its dimensions are approximately 30’-6” x 18’-4”.
Stone Stairway
Stone stairs lead from between the carriage house and the dairy down a slope to an early road.
Early Road
A stone wall borders an early road, depicted on the 1834 survey of Samuel Clapham’s land.
Spring
A stone structure was built at the head of a spring. The surrounding area downstream may have acted as an ice pond.
Bank Barn
A bank barn, which was not accessible at time of survey due to pavement construction, exists to the southeast of the mansion.
Shed
An accessory structure, which was also not accessible at time of survey, was identified the current owner as a shed.
Machine Shed
A machine shed is situated southeast of the mansion and currently houses farm equipment.
Tenant House
The appearance of a recently remodeled tenant house, which may have been a slave quarter structure, changed dramatically. The original construction was balloon-framed timber. The building was considerably smaller than it is today.
Cemetery
The family cemetery dates back to at least 1890. Several graves are located in the cemetery. It is currently undergoing area brush and tree removal. A fence is scheduled to be erected around the graveyard.
The grave markers are all uncarved except for one slab marking the grave of Sarah C. Chichester. The engraving reads:
Landscape Terrace
A landscape terrace was constructed ca. 1819 on the east lawn of the mansion. The depth of the first terrace is greater than the depth of the subsequent terrace levels.
Specimen Trees
Several specimen trees, with calipers greater than 48”, exist near the mansion house and along the early road trace.
Well
A well stands west of the first addition.
NON-EXTANT FEATURES
The 1834 survey plat shows evidence of non-extant structures. One large structure appears to be depicted as a round barn. A grouping of outbuildings may relate to slave quarters. Archaeology would provide needed data to make these use designations.
CONCLUSION
Chestnut Hill is a Revolutionary War era farm likely built by an English Baptist who emigrated from Pennsylvania during the Great Awakening. Many of the early structures exist today and the locations of the structures that have since disappeared are approximately known.
Archaeology at Chestnut Hill would possibly yield information about the Native Americans who settled in the area. Locations on hillocks overlooking a major waterway, such as at Chestnut Hill, have been modeled as being potential Native American sites.  Data for interpretation of the early Baptist farmsteads, their dependencies, and slave quarters is also likely to be found
ENDNOTES


[1] Fairfax Harrison, “ Landmarks of Old Prince William Volumes I and II,” Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1987, pp. 97-100.

[2] Northern Neck Grant (NN) B, p. 166, Awbrey, Francis grant of 745 acres, 18 December 1728, Land Office Patents & Grants/Northern Neck Grants & Surveys, Library of Virginia.

[3] NN D:50, Cocke, Catesby grant of 597 acres, 8 September 1731.

[4] NN A:119, Albin, Thacker, and King grant of 460 acres,  20 January 1724.

[5] NN F:82, Sinclair, Amos grant of 586 acres, undated and unsigned in 1742.

[6] NN A:118, Hawlin, William grant of 535 acres, 20 January 1724.

[7] NN B:215, Hallin, Margaret grant of 416 acres, 12 March 1728/1729.

[8] Peter Jefferson and Robert Brooks,”1737 Map of the Northern Neck in Virginia in 4 parts and the 1747 Map of the Northern Neck in Virginia in 6 parts”, Relic Room, Prince William County Public Library.

[9] NN I:277, Sinclair, John grant of 346 acres, 1 March 1776.

[10] NN F:45, Richardson, David grant of 425 acres, 8 December 1742.

[11] Robert Baylor Semple, “ History of the Baptists in Virginia,”, Revised and Extended by G.W. Beale, Church History Research and Archives, Lafayette, TN, 1976, p.396.

[12] Loudoun County Will Book (LN WB) C:206, 8 May 1786.

[13] Loudoun Cemetery Database, Thomas Balch Library web site, www.leesburgva.org

[14] LN WB A:310, 13 May 1771.

[15] Loudoun County Deed Book (LN DB) G:250, deed from “ William Jones and Mary his wife” to Thomas George, 6 April 1770.

[16] LN WB A:310, will of William Jones, 13 May 1771.

[17] Internet sources

[18] LN DB F:11, deed conveying 55 acres from James Steere, cooper, and Abigail, his wife to William Jones, 17 March 1767.

[19] Margaret Lail Hopkins, “ Index to The Tithables of Loudoun County, Virginia and to Slaveholders and Slaves, 1758-1786,” Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1991, p.42.

[20] LN DB I:102, deed from Joshua Jones, tanner to David Beaty and John Elliott, farmers, 22 November 1772.

[21] LN DB A:212, 11 September 1758.

[22] LN DB B:206, 10 August 1761, C:132 20 January 1762, F:11 17 March 1767, G:246 9 April 1770.

[23] LN WB A:310, will of William Jones, 13 May 1771.

[24] Ibid.

[25] LN DB M:36, deed from William Jones to Leonard Ansell.

[26] Loudoun Cemetery Database, Thomas Balch Library web site, leesburgva.org, Margaret Fry died 10/12/1851; also Ancestry.com RootsWeb.com posting by Harold F. Hahn whose gggggrandmother is Margaret Fry transcribed gravestone “ SACRED To the memory of Margaret Fry, wife of John N. Fry, Daughter of Leonard Ansil.”

[27] LN DB G:250, Deed conveying 519 acres from William Jones to Thomas George, 6 April 1770.

[28] Ibid., Deed states “ whereupon Thomas George now lives.” evidencing that George may have built the house prior to purchasing the property. ALSO Loudoun County, Virginia Tithables , 1758-1786, Volume I, p. 170. Note: Phil Noland’s list of tithables for 1766 includes Thomas George in possession of 500 acres. His grown son, William, is listed as living with his father. They are listed amongst known neighbors in the Chestnut Hill vicinity.

[29] Personal Interview with Don Swofford, Historical Architect, DASA Architects, Charlottesville, VA, 9 October 2003, post site visit.

[30] LN WB F:198, probate inventory of Thomas George, 5 November 1798.

[31] LN WB F:52, will of Thomas George, 8 October 1798.

[32] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham, survey in oversize file, Loudoun County Court Archives, 14 April 1836.

[33] LN DB N:13, deed conveying 200 acres from Thomas George to Josias Clapham, 10 October 1779.

[34] NN E:142, Clapham, Josias grant of 522 acres, 18 March 1739.

[35] LN DB M:129, lease and release deeds conveying 150 acres from Anthony Haynes and Susannah, his wife to Josias Clapham, 12 May 1772.

[36] LN DB T:257, deed conveyed furnace mountain tract from Henry Lee to Josias Clapham, et.al., 14 January 1792.

[37] See Building Evolution section of this report for more detailed information.

[38] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham, Survey of Samuel Clapham’s Land filed with & handed in with Com’s of Sale Report, 7 September 1834.

[39] LN WB G:92, will of Josias Clapham, 12 September 1803.

[40] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham, deposition of George Chichester, 9 March 1833.

[41] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham, deposition of Joseph C. Hart, 22 April 1833.

[42] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham, deposition of George Chichester, 9 March 1833.

[43] LN Chancery case M205, John Barrett v. Samuel Clapham, answer of Samuel Clapham, 4 April 1825.

[44] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham’s administrators, deposition of George Chichester, 9 March 1833.

[45] LN DB 3M:1, Samuel Clapham and Elizabeth, his wife placed “ The Mansion House and farm on that the said Samuel Now resides called Chestnut Hill containing Eight hundred Acres more of less” as loan collateral with Thomson F. Mason and Richard Henderson, 28 March 1826.

[46] LN DB 3M:1, Samuel and Elizabeth Clapham convey trust to Richard C. Henderson and Thomson F. Mason, 28 March 1826.

[47] CD510 Colonial Virginia Source Records, 1600s-1700s, Index to Richmond Enquirer & Whig Obituaries, Surnames C-D, Genealogy.com

[48] Eugene M. Scheel, “ Loudoun Discovered Communities, Corners & Crossroads Volume Two, Leesburg and the Old Carolina Road,” originally published in The Loudoun Times-Mirror, Leesburg, Virginia, Updated and Expanded with Maps & Photographs by The Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Virginia, 2002, p. 41.

[49] LN Chancery case M1567, Chatham Fire Insurance Co. v. Samuel Clapham’s administrators, 1833.

[50] John Vogt and T. William Kethley, Jr, “ Loudoun County Marriages 1760-1850,” Iberian Publishing Company, Athens, GA.

[51] LN DB 4O:71, referenced deed from George Price to Richard H. Henderson, unrecorded, 23 November 1833

[52] LN DB 4O:71, deed from George Price to Betsey Clapham Price Mason, 16 October 1839.

[53] Alexandria WB T1:1, will of Thomson F. Mason, proved 4 February 1839.

[54] See Oral History Interview with Alton Echols in  full report, a copy of which is at the Thomas Balch Library.

[55] Alexandria WB 1:74, will of Elizabeth Clapham Price Mason, 9 June 1873.

[56] FX WB 3N:355, will of J. Francis Mason, 13 September 1897.

[57] LN DB 7W:108, 6 October 1902; LN DB 8A:22, 6 February 1905; LN DB 8B:274, 16 December 1905; among others.

[58] LN DB 10G:413, deed conveying Chestnut Hill by Wilber C. Hall, special commissioner to Lucy J. Gore due to Hall vs. T. F. Mason suit and subsequent foreclosure, 5 November 1930. See also Oral History Interview with Alton Echols in full report, a copy of which is at the Thomas Balch Library.

[59] John G. Lewis, “ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Survey Form Chestnut Hill,” file number 53-69, Hamilton, Virginia, 2 August 1973, copy from Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond, Virginia.

[60] Linda DeButts, Loudoun Times-Mirror, article on auction of Chestnut Hill, June 25, 1987, p. 4.

[61] LN DB 570:535, deed conveyed from executor of Lucy J. Gore to Alton C. Echols, 28 March 1973.

[62] DeButts.

[63] Personal Interview with Don Swofford, Historical Architect, DASA Architects, Charlottesville, VA, 9 October 2003, during site visit.

[64] Ibid.

[65] Personal Interview with Michael Rierson, Fairfax County Park Authority, Resource Stewardship Manager, 9 October 2003, during site visit.