Francis Hague, a Pennsylvania Quaker, had a role in the early settlement of present-day Loudoun county when land was wooded and roads were few. In 1742 at age 31, he came to Virginia to obtain a land grant for 692 acres on Sycolin Creek, just south of present-day Leesburg.[1] When fellow Quaker Amos Janney surveyed the tract for him, Hague was a member of the survey team as the “marker.” He carved initials into trees at boundary corners, including two black oak trees that he marked with his own initials FH.[2] The following year, Hague purchased 303 acres on the South Fork of Catoctin at present-day Waterford where he resided.[3]

A survey of the northern neck of Virginia, surveyed 1736 & 1737, published ca 1747, John Warner, Image Courtesy Library of Congress, Click on Map for Larger Image

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Hague was a successful man who held leadership roles in his religious Quaker community. He was also appointed a town trustee, along with other notable men of the day, when Leesburg was formed in 1758.[4] He and his near neighbor, John Hough, were in business together. In 1752, they were the first to purchase lot #84 on Duke and Royal Streets in the newly-formed town of Alexandria, though what they did with the lot is unknown.[5] That same year, the county court ordered Hough and Hague to measure and point out a place to build a bridge over Broad Run.[6] The court had the men inspect the bridge the following year to determine if it was built according to the agreement, if it was necessary to lengthen the bridge, and whether the county should pay for it.[7] The Loudoun County court appointed John Hough and Francis Hague as beef, tar pitch, turpentine, and flour inspectors for the county in 1758.[8] Hague was also called upon by the court, along with other respected men of the day, to determine the best routes for new roads.[9]

Francis Hague's 303-acre farm, approximate boundary in 1743, Shown over 1937 USDA Aerial Photo, Photo Courtesy Loudoun County

Farming was Hague’s principal occupation. In 1765, Hague owned 950 acres of land.[10] He may have cultivated tobacco in his earlier years in Loudoun County, but by 1780 he was growing wheat, rye, oats, and hay in farm fields, and raising cattle, sheep, geese, and hogs. His farm produced items for home use, such as honey made by his swarm of bees and wool sheared from his sheep and spun on his spinning wheel. The cider funnel, stills, and kegs he owned suggests that the farm produced hard cider and distilled liquor.[11]

Quakers, members of the Society of Friends, ensured that their membership followed guidance issued at yearly meetings. During most of Hague’s lifetime, this guidance discouraged the disorderly practice of drinking to excess.[12] It wasn’t until a temperance movement, begun about 1776 during the American Revolutionary War, that the Society discouraged drinking any distilled liquor (ardent spirits as it was called back then).[13] This may explain why Hague possessed two stills, a still worm, and eleven still tubs, because for most of his life it was permissible to drink ardent spirits, just not to excess.[14]

No doubt Hauge’s numerous offspring helped around the household and farm, yet he supplemented this help in three ways. Firstly, he had an African American man, Isaac, in his household from at least 1758 to 1765.[15]By 1758, the Society of Friends began discouraging its members from enslaving people.[16] This came about after some Quaker pioneers were captured and enslaved by indigenous people. Reflection on this experience resulted in adherence to the precept, To do unto others as we would they should do unto us.[17] It is not known what role Isaac had in the household. Hague was not chastised by the Society for having him in his household as some other members were for owning slaves.

Secondly, Hague purchased the indenture of a convict transported to America. Convicts came to the northern neck of Virginia by the tens of thousands prior to the American Revolutionary War.[18] Christopher Fiddes, an Irish convict, was sentenced in 1758 to 14 years transportation.[19] Fiddes first appears in Hague’s household in 1769, suggesting that Hague purchased the servant’s indenture from someone else when Fiddes still had three years left to work on his indenture. Hague’s purchase doesn’t appear to have been a wise move. In August of that same year, Fiddes was sentenced to 25 lashes on his bare back at the public whipping post for gambling in a public house contrary to law.[20] Three months later, Hague published a reward advertisement for the return of Fiddes who ran away. The text of the advertisement is interesting. Apparently, Fiddes was wearing two sets of clothes. It would have been suspicious had he carried a spare change of clothes in a sack. Fiddes may have made a clean getaway as he never appeared in Hague’s household again.

Thirdly, Amos Hague, age about 18 years, was bound to Francis Hague by the county court in 1773 to be brought up as a farmer.[22]

Francis Hague House and Kitchen (center portion is a later addition), HABS Photo, ca. 1930s, Image Courtesy Library of Congress

Hague lived in a handsome Georgian-style brick house on a hill overlooking the South Fork of Catoctin Creek. His kitchen, with a large fireplace for cooking, was in a separate stone building near the house. The house was filled with furniture including four bedsteads, two tables, one armed chair and seven other chairs, a desk, two chests, and a chest of drawers. One of the tables may have been in the kitchen.[23]

The house and other buildings on Hague’s farm were quite valuable. His home, in keeping with his status as a successful and prominent citizen, was one of the larger houses in the county. After his death, his 406-acre property was sold for £900. At that time, land was selling for about £1/acre; therefore, the value of his buildings upon the land was about £494. The medium value of buildings sold at that time was about £121, so you can see that his buildings were quite substantial in comparison.[24]

Francis Hague's Kitchen

Francis Hague's Kitchen Fireplace