Maj. William LIGHTFOOT
Noted events in his life were: • Biography. William Lightfoot, the youngest son of Goodrich and Mary (Chew) Lightfoot, was probably born and raised in the area of Culpeper Co., Virginia. He is listed and identified in the Lightfoot Papers in the College of William and Mary Library as follows: Major William Lightfoot, son of Col. Goodrich and Mary Lightfoot, of Spottsylvania and Orange Counties, Virginia served as an ensign in the militia during the French and Indian War in 1756 when he "marched against the indians above Winchester" under the command of Colonel George Washington. He also saw service and furnished supplies in the Revolutionary War. As a result of his honorable service he was awarded a land grant in the territory of Kentucky. By moving with most of his family in 1794 from Culpeper Co. Virginia to Jefferson Co. Kentucky, he became [temporarily] lost to Virginia genealogy. His sons Goodrich (married Martha Fry) and Phillip (never married) remained in Virginia, and many letters written to the latter from Kentucky contain interesting data. Major Lightfoot's beautiful sword, the ivory and brass hilt crowned with an eagle's head, was engraved "Major William Lightfoot". William married Elizabeth Barrow in 1746 at Richmond, VA., and they produced at least 9 children recorded herein. It is uncertain if the decision to migrate to Kentucky with most of his family in 1794 was William's (he would have been about 74 years old) or a family consensus. By that time, all his children (except Phillip) were married and had produced a substantial number of grandchildren; so the expedition must have constituted a substantial undertaking and a risky adventure into an area just being explored and settled. They were joined in Kentucky in 1799 by a large party that included other Lightfoot families (including the family of his brother Goodrich Jr. who died in 1778 - headed by his son Phillip), the Robert Joneses, the Reuben Waggeners, the Green River Taylors, the George and James Breedings, the Alexander Elliots, the Robert Colemans and the Charles Creels. Many of these families intermarried in subsequent years. These families had come under the influence of the Methodist Revival back in Orange County (Culpeper) Virginia and that denomination was established in Adair County, the land for the Church being given by Alexander Elliot, tho he himself was of Presbyterian background. William's son Goodrich Lightfoot remained in Virginia and apparently prospered through his marriage and connection to the Fry Family. Son Phillip Lightfoot, who also remained in Virginia, never married and was described to be "the only person who could walk from his home to the Courthouse and never get a speck of dust on his shining shoes." Phillip corresponded regularly with the family in Kentucky, especially his sister Frances who sent him many letters describing their trip and their lives in the new settlement. A letter to Phillip sent by his sister Mildred (Lightfoot) Nabb during 1799 is quoted below: "My Dear Brother: How different are my prospects from when I last wrote you. Then were they pleasing, but now gloomy indeed, having lost the best and finest of men the 1st of July. My never to be forgotten Mr. Nabb, in death after a violent separation of his knee, left me with my dear little girl (six weeks old) and three sons by a former wife, destitute of a home or our own; though not, I hope, without a comfortable subsistence. The two oldest boys I've put out to school; the youngest and my daughter at home with me at Mr. Coleman's where I expect to stay until I can purchase a home, hopefully this winter. Then I shall take my old infirm father [William Lightfoot] to live with me. I trouble you, my good brother, with a lock of highly prized hair to have a locket made in the neatest manner with my deceased husband's name on the back of it and a miniature for my girl. Have them done as soon as you can and you will much oblige your affectionate sister. /s/ Mildred Nabb" William's death in1805 at the home of his daughter Mildred was reported in a letter from Robert Coleman of Kentucky to Capt. Phillip Lightfoot of Culpeper Co., Virginia. Jefferson County, Kentucky lies in the northern extreme of the State about 30 miles northeast of Louisville adjacent to the southern border of Indiana. • See also. http://geocities.com/bevs-family/PAGE50.html#I17976 William married Elizabeth BARROW on 5 Mar 1745 in Richmond County, VA. (Elizabeth BARROW was born in 1725 in VA and died in 1795 in Jefferson County, KY.) Noted events in their marriage were: • Alt. Marriage, 5 Mar 1746, Westmoreland County, VA. |