Sunday, June 17, 2007

Genealogy is cool



This is "Franklin" (cuz you know all the cool oldtimey people named their homes - and my relatives were nothing if not cool).

It's about 2 miles out of Charlottesville, VA. The 600 acre plot was purchased in 1789 by Dr. William Bache (the typing is bad so I may have botched the a and/or e) son of William Bache of Philidelphia and Sarah Franklin, daughter of Benjamin Franklin. It was purchased by John Hough Craven (my 4th great grandpa) in 1821.

"Franklin" is said to have been built by Benjamin Franklin for his grandson, Bejamin Franklin Bache. (I know that doesn't make sense with the name above - I'm just writing what I found).

It is said that Meriwether Lewis once resided here, riding on horseback each day to "Monitcello," where he acted as one of Jefferson's secretaries. (John Hough Craven's daughter married into the Lewis clan, and the Lewis family also later owned this home so this is probable).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Erika: That's cool about the old homestead, Franklin. I know about it but I did not know about the Ben Franklin connection. My grandfather, "HEC", is buried there, as is (I believe) my grandmother. I think they were the last, other than at least one cousin who died as an infant.

I also knew about a Meriweather Lewis connection, and that it was by marriage. I've seen a vague marriage connection one time but don't remember where I saw it or much about it. The family was pretty certain about it, though, as Aunty Bill's middle name was Lewis, and it was on purpose--after the Meriweather connection.

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