18th Century Kittiewan Plantation
The Formative Years Of European Settlement At Kittiewan
Eighteenth century Kittiewan was a time of dispersion and amalgamation. The property changed hands several times as the Roane patent was subdivided. The subdivisions occurred in north-south oriented strips.
The decade between 1720 and 1730 is the earliest suggested date range for historic occupation on the tract now known as Kittiewan Plantation, as Charles Roane and Rice Hoe had dozens of land holdings along the James River and resided elsewhere.
1728 may have been a pivotal year for the property. Archibald Blair sold 200 acres of what is now part of Kittiewan Plantation in 1728. The Blair deed mentioned Charles Roane had sold a moiety of his 400 acres to Thomas Gregory and William Ballard, who in turn sold it to Blair prior to 1728. Archibald Blair's brother Rev. James Blair, was the founder of the College of William and Mary. A few months before he sold the land on Kittiewan Creek, Blair's daughter Elizabeth married John Bolling, a great-grandson of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Blair's son John became one of the first Supreme Court Justices, nominated by George Washington.
The east half of the Roane patent had been subdivided by the early 1700s. On one such subdivision, a Mrs. Elizabeth Gordon Hollingshorst was buried on the bank of Kittiewan Creek near the southeast corner of Kittiewan Plantation (archeological site 44CC0376).
Elizabeth Gordon married Richard Bland (Brand) and it is not known of they had children. Richard Bland had at least two brothers - Robert Bland who had a son Thomas, and Thomas Bland who had a daughter Elizabeth, all from Scotland. Richard Bland was involved with Charles City County by the 1690s. When and where Richard Bland died is unknown, but Elizabeth mentions him as her "former husband" in her will in 1728.
Elizabeth Gordon Bland then married Thomas Hollinghurst (Hollingshorst), a ship master. On May 1, 1728, Elizabeth Hollinshurst completed her will. She was living in Westover Parish in Charles City County. Her loving friend Archibald Blair of the City of Williamsburg was designated to be the executor of her estate.
Mrs. Hollingshorst died on November 30, 1728 and was buried a few feet from the north bank of Kittiewan Creek 300 feet upriver from the mouth of Mapsico Creek. Legend has it that she died on her father's ship on the James River, but this cannot be proven. Her will was submitted by Archibald Blair, who also received the bulk of her estate after her sons were taken care of, indicating a closed relationship between the two. Since Hollingshorst was buried on the creek, it is possible she lived there. A mid-18th century site has been located on the edge of the uplands about 500 feet north of the grave. Archibald Blair sold his land on Kittiewan Creek to Benjamin Willard by December 1728.
Charles Roane or subsequent owners divided his patents into at least four parcels. Dr. William Rickman, famous during the American Revolution as the head surgeon of the Continental Army in Virginia, bought several tracts in the 1770s. Rickman purchased one tract from Thomas Brown before 1780, which is now bounded on the south and east by Highway 619, on the west by Drinking Run and on the north by a run of Drinking Run, containing approximately 240 acres.
The English brick bond pattern used in the foundation and one chimney suggests the original dwelling section was built sometime after Willard acquired the property. We have not yet located any 17th century sites on the property. In fact, the supposition is that at least one is where the manor house is now located.
By the early 1770s, Revolutionary War prominent physician Dr. William Rickman acquired the property. He called it Millford, the earliest known name associated with the plantation. Rickman's wife Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Harrison of Berkley Plantation, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a sister of the ninth U.S. President, William Henry Harrison. During the Rickman years, the property's acreage increased through the purchase of several adjacent parcels north and east of the original tract. When he died in 1783, Rickman was buried in a cemetery located on a hill north of the house and west of the main entrance road. Rickman's widow married John Edmondson in 1789, dying in 1791.
Elizabeth Harrison Rickman's brother, Carter Bassett Harrison, purchased Millford from her and Edmondson in 1790, but he never lived here. When Dr. Rickman died in 1783, his widow Elizabeth inherited his property, including Millford. She applied for and received certificates for 6666 acres of land for her husband's service during the American Revolution. These certificates were apparently still in her possession when she made her will out in 1789, when she asked that the certificates be given to her second husband John Edmondson.
Kittiewan was built in the 18th century. The exact date remains to be ascertained, along with the alterations that are know to have occurred. Local history has it that the house was built in the early 18th century. The style of the interior paneling suggests that it dates into the second half of the 18th century. Architectural historians from Colonial Williamsburg see it as late 18th century. See the discussion of the manor house history for details of this fascinating saga. It is possible from the available evidence that both are right. Some part of the house was built first with the remainder added, and at some point a wing was removed. The exquisite interior paneling was perhaps then added to spruce up the main rooms. Or, the paneling was original and the west wing was removed from the original.
The 1787 tax records show Elizabeth Rickman charged with two tracts of land, 223 acres and 365 acres, with no name directly associated with the land. Elizabeth Rickman subsequently married John Edmondson around 1789. Her will, drafted in May 1790, specified all of her land was to go to her husband John Edmondson; upon his death, the Thomas Brown tract was to go to her brother William Henry Harrison, while the 280-acre home place would go to Carter Bassett Harrison, another brother.
Even though he was to receive the Rickman home place though her will in 1790, Elizabeth and John Edmondson sold the Millford tract and other lands to total 800 acres to her brother Carter Bassett Harrison in 1791. The 800 acres did not include the Thomas Brown tract, which passed to William Henry Harrison. Two years later, William Henry Harrison signed a quitclaim deed ceding all claims to "Brown's Quarter" to his brother Carter Bassett Harrison for £25 Virginia money; this is the only instance in the deed books where the word "Quarter" appears with this particular tract. The quitclaim record also confirmed it as the tract Rickman bought from Brown and the land that was bequeathed to W.H. Harrison by his sister. The erroneous use of "Brown's 'Quarter'" in relation to the Millford and Kittiewan Brown tract has led to speculation that William Henry Harrison once owned historic Sherwood Forest, the home of President James Tyler, having it the only home owned by two U.S. Presidents, which is not correct.
Elizabeth Harrison petitioned to receive bounty land due her late husband Dr. Rickman from his service during the American Revolution. She was given land certificates totaling 6,666 acres in Ohio. She later gave these certificates to her siblings as she had no heir. After her death, her second husband John Edmondson, who was given the right to live at Millford for life, left Millford and married again; from this marriage he had a few children. From the 1840s to 1870s, the children of this last marriage sued the Harrison family for the land in Ohio, but ultimately lost.
Carter Bassett Harrison continued to expand his holdings in Charles City County, even though he lived across the James River in Prince George County, and may never have actually resided at Kittiewan Plantation. In 1794, he bought a 120-acre parcel from Thomas Backhurst and wife, located east of the main entrance road to Kittiewan Plantation. Carter B. Harrison, however, was not listed in Charles County tax records until 1795 and he was assessed for only 170 acres in that year. This supports the assumption he mainly resided in Prince George County, Virginia.