My Pilgrimage to Louisa County, Virginia

Louisa County’s location within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I’ve been researching a relative named Pleasant Terrell, who was born in Louisa County, Virginia circa 1794. He was enslaved by David Shelton, the owner of a plantation called Old Town. David died in 1797, and when his estate was settled, Pleasant was passed down to David’s son-in-law in Georgia.

I visited Louisa County to view the former lands of Old Town for myself. The plantation was located on the north side of the Old Mountain Road (present day Route 522). David Shelton purchased the bulk of the land from Roger Thompson in 1752 and another piece from William McCormack in 1754. He purchased a separate piece of land nearby from his brother Samuel in 1755. The house currently on that land, called Roseneath, was built during David’s lifetime. In 1758, he purchased a plantation called Spring Hill, directly across the road from Old Town. In addition to the 400 acres adjoining Roseneath, which he inherited from his father in the 1730’s, David owned at least 2,200 acres altogether.

Roseneath (photo by Elaine Taylor)

David’s estate inventory lists 54 enslaved men, women, and children, many of which are my family members. Pleasant is listed as a child of Grace, along with Betty, Winny, Polly, and Billy. I believe that Grace had other children, but these five were listed with her because they were under 16 years old. Grace was also sent to Georgia after David Shelton’s estate was settled, along with her daughter Polly. Unfortunately, her daughter Winny was inherited by David’s son Thomas Shelton who lived at the Roseneath Plantation in Shelfar, Virginia. It is unclear where her other children ended up, but they were most likely separated forever.

David Shelton’s estate settlement.

David originally inherited Grace from his brother Joseph Shelton who died in 1784. Joseph never married and was very wealthy, owning six plantations in three counties and enslaving over 100 people. The 1785 inventory of Joseph’s estate lists Grace on his Horseshoe Plantation. The farm was located on present-day Horseshoe Bend in Bumpass, Virginia, named after the two sharp curves in the South Anna River that form the shape of a horseshoe. Joseph also owned a plantation in Goochland County, Virginia called the Wild Boar Plantation. David inherited this land after Joseph’s death and placed Grace on it. In 1791, David gave that farm to his youngest son and moved Grace to Old Town. A development called Rockett’s Ridge currently sits on top of the former Wild Boar Plantation.

A drawing of Joseph Shelton’s manor “Woodland”.

Joseph’s personal residence was called Woodland, lying on land he inherited from his father in the 1730’s. Woodland also may have been the site of an early Presbyterian Meeting House. Joseph and his brothers founded the Providence Church in 1747, but they didn’t purchase the land on which the current building stands until 1753. The congregation’s first pastor was Samuel Davies, who went on to be the president of Princeton University. Reportedly, he believed in teaching enslaved people how to read the Bible because the Word of God should be consumed with both the eyes and ears. My ancestors most likely built Providence from the ground up, and may have worshipped inside with their enslavers, forced to sit in the balcony.

I took these photos of Providence Presbyterian Church when I visited Virginia. This is the original building, presumably built when the land was deeded in 1753.

The enslaved people of the community sat in the balcony when they attended.

Joseph Shelton also inherited his childhood home, Rural Plains, at the death of his eldest brother, John Shelton, Jr. The sturdy brick building was constructed from 1723 to 1725 in Mechanicsville, Virginia. The father of the Shelton brothers, John Shelton, died in 1725 as the house was being completed. Unfortunately, he died very young without a will in Hanover County, and there are no surviving estate inventories from that time and location. Grace’s parents might have been born at Rural Plains, and her grandparents might have built it, but there is no way to be sure without more records. Hanover County is near Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States. Many courthouses throughout the South were burned following the Civil War, destroying these early records forever. Rural Plains itself was the site of a Civil War battle and the house was struck by cannon fire several times. Today, it is owned by the National Park Service as a part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park.

The front porch of The Shelton House at Rural Plains.

The back porch of The Shelton House at Rural Plains.

View of Rural Plains from the back porch of the Shelton House.

Totopotomoy Creek

My greatest discoveries in Virginia were the detailed lists of tithable persons and taxable property. Enslaved laborers fell into both categories. I thought that Joseph Shelton’s estate inventory from 1785 was the earliest record I had of my ancestors, but tax records going back to 1782 list Grace as Joseph’s property. Louisa County also has transcribed lists dating back to 1767 of tithable people. All white men over the age of 16 and all enslaved people over the age of 16 were defined as “tithables” because they were considered fit for field work. Grace does not appear on Joseph’s lists until 1772, which means she was born at least by 1756. I was also able to view the lists of tithables in Goochland County all the way back to 1756, which of course features the names of enslaved people born by 1740. Now, I have a lot more hope that I may discover some of the enslaved people that the Shelton brothers inherited from their father once they became of age in the late 1730s.

Joseph Shelton’s 1782 tax list for Louisa County, including his tithable nephew Joseph and 40 of his enslaved people. Grace is number 17.

In 1797, Grace Shelton and her son Pleasant Terrell were both brought to a forced labor camp in Wilkes County, Georgia owned by Thomas Terrell. He was married to David Shelton’s daughter Sarah. Thomas Terrell moved to Greene County, Georgia a few years later and died there in 1822. Grace was not on his estate inventory, possibly because she was already deceased. Pleasant was passed down to Thomas’ eldest son, David Shelton Terrell, the namesake of his original enslaver. My direct ancestors remained in Georgia until 1943, completely unaware of our ties to Louisa County, Virginia 146 years prior. 

Special thanks go to:

Louisa County Historical Society

Library of Virginia

Providence Presbyterian Church Gum Spring

Elaine Taylor

and Pam Richardson.