Mar 28

Mar 28 Extended Interview: Crossing into Culpeper

By 1900, it is clear that branches of the Lawson, Bailey and Smoot families are settled in Culpeper County. My direct line as well as other lateral lines have made their homes in the area. On the 1900 census, my 3rd-great grandmother, Frances Lawson, originally from Rappahannock County had become a part of the Jeffersonton community in Culpeper, alongside other Baileys and Lawsons. Her daughter, Mary Frances Lawson had just married Henry Bailey in 1895, 5 years prior, their Culpeper County marriage certificate a sacred bit of insight into her paternal tie, a white man by the name of Jake Woodward.

But it is in Culpeper that it becomes apparent that the families that would settle in Waterloo, Fauquier County started long ties here. On the 1900 census, the families of Brooks, Lawsons, Smoots and Baileys live practically next door to each other, and marriages between the 3 families had already begun to take place.

Mary Frances Lawson of Rappahanock would marry Henry Bailey of Fauquier County in Culpeper County.

They would start their families, and the two would have the following children by 1900 in Culpeper.

Rachel Elizabeth Bailey

William Randolph Bailey

Rachel Elizabeth Bailey being my great-grandmother. I am unsure how long they have been in Culpeper , the 1890 census is missing due to a large fire in 1921 in the Commerce Department Building that housed the records.

On September 30, 2018, I came to Culpeper with the hopes of finding a family cemetery connected to the Lawson side, actually Terita Russell’s direct line of Mary E. Lawson and Elias Chappelear, although this was prior to meeting her. My lead was a 2007 online post that referenced a cemetery maintained by Dr. James Hamilton. Having been unsuccessful in locating the cemetery previously, I reached out to a friend named Don Haight, a Culpeper resident who has great ties to the community and had lived in Culpeper for 2 decades. I met him at the Slave Dwelling Project in August 2018 and once I told him about what I was aiming to do, explore Fauquier, Rappahannock and Culpeper to gather clues, he was on board.

So, on a weather-perfect Saturday, I met him in my small Nissan Sentra ready to drive here and there with his guidance, but he completely shocked me. He pulled up in a 1966 Ford very ready to help me find this cemetery that I had no luck with. My daughter and I hopped in and we were off.

Our first stop was to find the coordinates that were listed in the ancestry chat. Given the nature of many family plots, we weren’t sure how apparent it would be from the road, so occasionally we would stop and talk to those in the area to get a bit more clarity. Our luck seemed a bit spread thin as driving up and down 211, proved to be fruitless, but Don made a call to a gentleman who has a large farm in Culpeper and after dropping the names of Lawsons, Baileys, Smoots, he responded with a roundabout area where he knew some Lawsons. He was right.

Very right. Driving up Korea Road and over the hill, there was a woman taking care of her lawn, and Don urged that I ask her for more specific directions. I did, and she directed me to the home of the “Lawsons.” While I knew that the Lawsons I might encounter might be kin, I was not entirely sure.

Don pulled into the driveway and much to my chagrin beeped the horn. I was exasperated by this because I was just not accustomed to this, but he assured me that it was ok and a proper way to announce in case people have dogs. I obliged. He seemed to navigate so effortlessly, knowledgeably and kindly, so I took his word.

I had reached the home of the Lawsons. Josephine Lawson and Archie Lawson to be exact. I needed a little help orienting how we might be kin, and she told me that I could return the next day to interview her more deeply. I did.

Sunday came, I was anxious to interview Ms. Josephine Lawson, anxious to get a little closer to understanding my family’s trajectory. So, I met her at the agreed time 12:15 pm. She came out.