Old Homes of Prince Edward — Slate Hill: The untold story
Published 12:19 pm Thursday, October 22, 2015
- This old photo of Slate Hill shows the office attached to the main house. Major Richard Morton Venable, the last Venable to own Slate Hill, bought it from his brother’s widow in 1905. When he sold it in 1906, it was in excellent condition. Thus this photo was taken well after that. By comparing these boxwoods to those in the WPA photo, we can conclude that this photo was taken after 1938, perhaps just before the office was detached and moved to campus in 1944.
Second in a series
By Dr. Ray A. Gaskins
Professor Emeritus, H-SC
Prince George County originated as a land grant from King George II in 1727. Shortly thereafter, in 1734, Amelia County was carved out of Prince George. Finally, in 1753, Prince Edward County was formed from Amelia by an act of the House of Burgesses. This act became effective January 1, 1754.
Joseph Morton (1709-1782) patented a 1,200-acre tract in 1739 that contained what would later become the Slate Hill tract. He and his second wife, Agnes Woodson (1711-1802), became the first settlers on this tract. They built a home where most of their children were born. As a surveyor, Joseph built some of the early roads in the area that became Prince Edward. In January 1754 he was named one of the first six county court justices and was a founding elder of Briery Church (1755). (Road building generated plenty of felled trees for home building.)
This is how the Slate Hill office (now called “The Birthplace”) looked in 1945, one year after it was moved to campus. The tin roof had been replaced and the wooden exterior had been repaired and painted, but it has yet to be lifted higher off the ground and placed on a brick foundation. The bricks in the chimney look original, like they were brought from Slate Hill and reassembled.
In 1744 “Baron” Richard Woodson, Jr. (1705-1774), of Poplar Hill, bought 400 of the 1,200 acres from his brother-in-law, Joseph Morton. In September 1754 he bought the remaining 800 acres, plus another 217 acres from Joseph. This 1,017-acre purchase, recorded in the Prince Edward Courthouse (DB 1/17), contained the Slate Hill tract.
In 1755 Joseph Morton moved his family west, to his new estate, Little Roanoke Bridge, in Lunenburg (now Charlotte), but he did not sever ties with Prince Edward. He continued as an elder in Briery Church and helped raise the money in 1775 that gave H-SC its start. (He had to give up his Prince Edward judgeship, but he later became a judge in Charlotte when it was formed in 1765.)
Nathaniel Venable (1733-1804) built his Slate Hill home in 1756, shortly after his March 29, 1755 marriage to Elizabeth Michaux Woodson (1740-1791), daughter of Richard Woodson, Jr. and Ann Madelin Michaux (1710-1796), and niece of Joseph and Agnes Morton. It seems like everyone was related back then — Richard and his sister Agnes were children of Richard Woodson, Sr., and Ann Smith. Thus, Nathaniel could address the Mortons as Uncle Joseph and Aunt Agnes.
Originally a “story-and-a-half five-roomed home,” Slate Hill was expanded over the years as all but one of Nathaniel and Elizabeth’s 14 children were born there. Nathaniel and Elizabeth and seven of their children are buried there. Since all of the expansion was at the rear, a frontal view of Slate Hill makes the house look deceptively small (see the 1939 photo).
This is how “The Birthplace” looks today after a $100,000 restoration for the Hampden-Sydney College’s 225th anniversary. It was raised higher off the ground and placed on a new foundation. Originally designated to be used as a museum, it has been used as a functional office on campus for years.
A note on the front page of The Herald on August 14, 1931, emphasized something not mentioned in any other history of Slate Hill, until now. Nathaniel Venable built his 1756 home on his father-in-law’s property. The Baron could have waited and left the Slate Hill tract to his daughter, Elizabeth, in his will, but he became fond of Nathaniel and “out of paternal affection” he made a belated wedding present of 800 acres to Nathaniel and Elizabeth in 1760. Thus, Nathaniel Venable’s Slate Hill was not a huge plantation, as some writers would have us believe; it was an 800-acre farm. (Sweet Briar College provides a modern-day example of the risk you take when you build your home on property you don’t own.)
So what happened to the old Morton home at Slate Hill? According to W.S. Morton, 302 South Main Street, writing in The Herald on March 25, 1927, Nathaniel Venable didn’t build Slate Hill: “When Joseph Morton moved out, Nathaniel Venable moved into Slate Hill. Joseph Morton built Slate Hill and his four sons, who were [all] officers in the Revolution, were born there.”
W.S. Morton confirms the 1755 move date: “The chimney of [Joseph Morton’s Little Roanoke Bridge] residence in Charlotte bore the date 1755.”
Pictured is Slate Hill in the early 1890s, after Maj. Richard Morton Venable’s renovation. Pictured are, from left, a student, Mrs. Bettie Edmunds Venable, John McCampbell Venable, Asa Dupuy Watkins and another student. John and Bettie had no children, so they boarded students. After John died, Bettie sold Slate Hill to Major Venable and moved into The Maples on campus. They were the last Venables to live at Slate Hill; Major Venable was the last Venable to own Slate Hill. John and Bettie and Asa are buried at College Church. Major Venable died in Baltimore, was cremated and his ashes spread in parks there.
If true, this greatly simplifies the Slate Hill story, and makes the home even older and more important than we thought. William Scott Morton (1859-1948; H-SC Class of 1880) was a genealogist and, according to Dr. Eggleston, was “the greatest authority in this country on the Virginia Mortons.” Born at Campustella in Charlotte to William Morton and Margaret Watkins, he attended Prince Edward Academy at Worsham, and was a graduate of both H-SC and the Union Theology Seminary (UTS).
However, Dr. Eggleston cites Miss Addie Venable (1861-1940) as his authority on Slate Hill. She told him that her father pointed out the exact spot where the Joseph Morton residence stood: “north of Slate Hill, across a branch, looking towards Hampden-Sydney.” She said that Nathaniel Venable did move into the Joseph Morton residence and lived there with his wife for the year it took him to build Slate Hill, and their first child was born there. Thus, five officers of the American Revolution were born at the old Morton home: Lt. Josiah, Capt. William, Lt. Joseph, Capt. Jacob Morton and Col. Samuel Woodson Venable (1756-1821; Hampden-Sidney Academy (HSA) Class of 1777). What a historic home, but it was gone before the Civil War, else Miss Addie would have seen it rather than “the exact spot” where it stood. (The census of 1785 shows two dwellings and 13 other buildings at Slate Hill.)
Miss Addie’s father was Capt. Andrew Reid Venable (1830-1913; CSA), of The Grotto at H-SC, not Maj. Andrew Reid Venable, Jr. (1832-1909; CSA, H-SC Class of 1852), of Milnwood at Farmville, who also had a daughter named Miss Addie Venable (1875-1962). To ease the confusion, the younger Andrew adopted the suffix, “Jr.” But there was still some confusion. Thus, after the war, in order not to offend, locals addressed both men as “Major.” The captain and the major were members of College Church and both are buried in the cemetery there.
This sketch of Slate Hill, which appeared in “Today and Yesterday In The Heart Of Virginia,” shows how it looked before the office was attached to the house. The house faces south, away from Hampden Sydney, so the office was west of the house. The boxwoods and the flower garden were in the front yard and the cemetery was in the backyard. The peacocks had the run of the place.
Matthew Walton Venable (1847-1930; CSA, H-SC Class Of 1866) of Scott-Greene wrote that on days that were
unsuitable for outdoor play, the children would “search for buried treasure” in first one and then another attic on the various family estates. He particularly remembers discovering a trunk in the attic at Slate Hill. When he opened it, he found that it was full of packets of uncirculated money. When he showed one of these packets to his cousins, he was told that it was Continental Currency dating back to the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel, the original owner of Slate Hill, was angered when he heard that his neighbors had refused to take Continental Currency for war supplies. He considered this unpatriotic and decided to set the example. He put out the word that Continental Currency was good for war supplies at his farm. The result was not quite what he expected — all the army supply officers flocked to his farm to buy supplies with the “worthless” currency.
Dolly and Ken Worthy bought the Slate Hill farm in March 1958. Since she lived there for more than 50 years, there is no greater Slate Hill resource alive today than Dolly. Therefore, we will be quoting from her article in “Prince Edward County, Virginia, Heritage 1754-2008 (2008).”
“Slate Hill, like many other family estates, had a separate one-room building known as an office where, unlike the attic, all manner of frequently used stuff was kept. But, unlike other estates, at some point the office was moved and attached to the main house.” (Each time the office was moved, its chimney and fireplace had to be taken down and rebuilt, brick by brick.)
On February 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1775, years before the office was annexed, the Hanover Presbytery met here and gave birth to what would become Hampden-Sidney Academy in 1776, Hampden-Sidney College (HSC) in 1783 and Hampden-Sydney College in 1928. It was never officially known as Prince Edward Academy, which existed at Worsham (1873-86) and in Farmville (1959-1992). (Regardless of the name, from the very beginning, it was always meant to be a college based on the Princeton model.)
In any history of H-SC it is almost always mentioned that the school was founded six months before the Declaration of Independence was signed. What is almost never mentioned is just how hard it was to found a school in the midst of a revolution. For example, the school would not have made it through the first year had food not been prepared at Slate Hill and delivered to the students.
Upon the death of Nathaniel in 1804, Slate Hill passed to his son, Richard Nathaniel Venable, Sr. (1763-1838; HSA Class of 1777); then to his son, Richard Nathaniel Venable, Jr. (1806-1844; H-SC Class of 1827) and to his son, William Henry Venable (1835-1861; CSA). Let us pause here because some Slate Hill histories omit Henry Venable in the chain of ownership.
The story of the untimely death of William Henry Venable was told by Rev. Asa Dupuy Watkins (1873-1932; HSC Class of 1894) in “The Kaleidoscope” (1929): “He [Henry Venable] and his sister-in-law’s brother, Henry Edmunds, were behind an embankment firing at the Yankee ‘sharp-shooters’ during the Battle of Rich’s Mountain in the Civil War. Henry Venable raised up to shoot and was instantly killed. Henry Edmunds raised his head next and had his ear shot off. John McCampbell Venable, brother of the slain Henry, inherited Henry’s home, Slate Hill, and moved there with his wife, Betty Edmunds, in 1863.”
We checked at the Prince Edward Courthouse and found a deed (DB 28/533) dated December 21, 1863, conveying Slate Hill (571 acres) from Henry Venable, deceased, to John McCampbell Venable (1831-1899; CSA, H-SC Class of 1853).
We verified that Sgt. William Henry Venable was killed in action at Carricks Ford, West Virginia, on July 13, 1861. He enlisted May 21, 1861, at Prince Edward Courthouse, near Slate Hill, in Company I, 23rd Virginia Infantry. He was buried where he fell, on the banks of the Shavers Fork River, Tucker County, West Virginia. Henry Watkins Edmunds (1837-1926; HSC Class of 1860), a member of the same company, also enlisted May 21st, but from Farmville. He was captured beside the slain Henry, and was paroled a week later. In 1864 he married Harriet Anne Venable (1841-1923) and became Master of Scott-Greene.
Since John and his wife, Bettie Edmunds Venable (1835-1932; m.1855), had no children, they made good use of Slate Hill as a boarding house for students at Prince Edward Academy and H-SC, who nicknamed them “Uncle John” and “Aunt Bet.” The boarding house was a boy’s paradise and was always full during the more than 30 years that they ran it. According to Asa, “The fellows staying there enjoyed room without restrictions, care without restraint, interest without encroachment, companionship without pretense, kindness without demands and food without limit. Fried chicken, old hams, pound cake and cookies, sweet-meats and cherry preserves flowed from some perennial spring.” And peacocks strutted in the yard — all for only $10 a month!
In addition to running Slate Hill farm, John M. Venable served on the Prince Edward Board of Supervisors off and on from 1871 until the day he died. When he died in 1899, Asa Dupuy Watkins, and his cousin, Harry, returned to Slate Hill “to keep watch that night over the body of dear ‘Uncle John’ as he slept his last sleep in the large chamber to the left of the hall.” (Asa was born in Prince Edward, was a graduate of both H-SC and UTS and is buried at College Church. He was the son of Capt. Richard Henry Watkins (1825-1905; CSA) and Mary Purnell Dupuy (1839-1921), who are buried in Westview Cemetery.
In 1905 John’s widow conveyed Slate Hill (now 531 acres) to her brother-in-law, Major Richard “Dick” Morton Venable (1839-1910; CSA, HSC Class of 1857), who was the last Venable to own it. These last three Slate Hill transfers make perfect sense when you consider that Henry, John and Dick were brothers.
Since so much incorrect information has been written about who Dick’s siblings were, e.g., in “Brinkley’s On This Hill” (1994), p. 377-8, we will take a moment here to set the record straight. Richard Nathaniel Venable and Magdalen McCampbell (1807-1856; m.1830) had five children — four sons and one daughter. The oldest (John) was born in Prince Edward, probably at Slate Hill, but the other four were born in Charlotte. We have already covered two of Dick’s brothers, John and Henry.
In 1854 Dick’s only sister, Mary Reid Venable (1834-1901), married Judge Robert Carrington Bouldin (1833-1878; CSA, HSC Class of 1851), of Charlotte. After the Civil War, his third brother, Judge McDowell Reid Venable (1836-1907; CSA, HSC Class of 1857), moved to San Luis Obispo County, California, and became a county judge. In 1872 he returned to the East long enough to marry Alice T. Watkins (1849-1925) of Maryland.
Judge Bouldin and Mary attended the wedding and were enchanted by Judge Venable’s tales of California. Soon thereafter they moved, with their three children, to California, next door to the newlyweds. In 1879 Judge Bouldin came down with malaria and died on December 19th. His widow, Mary, continued to live next door to her brother, and her son, Robert Venable Bouldin (1859-1909; H-SC Class of 1880), became his law clerk. Judge Venable and Alice, Judge Bouldin and Mary, and all of the Bouldin and Venable children are buried in San Luis Cemetery. (When Robert V. was sent back East to H-SC, he boarded at Slate Hill.)
Dick was one of the biggest benefactors in the history of the college and probably supplied the funds to remodel and renovate Slate Hill in the early 1890s (see photo). It was during this renovation that the office was moved and attached to the house. Rev. Asa Dupuy Watkins, who boarded at Slate Hill when he was a student, wrote that after the office was annexed, it was used as a kitchen. A boarding house can always use more kitchen space.
After graduating from H-SC, Dick studied applied mathematics and engineering at UVA until the outbreak of the Civil War. On April 21, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Richmond Howitzers where he rose to the rank of Major. In 1863 he transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department and was placed on the staff of Gen. Kirby Smith. He was paroled in July 1865, and found himself flat broke.
In the fall of 1865 Dick became a professor of engineering at Louisiana State Seminary (now LSU), filling the position that W.T. Sherman had vacated at the beginning of the war. In addition to teaching engineering, he was soon made commandant of cadets and acting superintendent.
In 1867 Dick taught mathematics at Washington University (now W&L), while Robert E. Lee was its president, and earned a law degree on the side. In 1869 he went to Baltimore to practice law. In 1872 he became a law professor at the University of Maryland, where he taught for 34 years. In 1885 he was invited to speak before the American Bar Association on the separation of powers between the federal government and the states. In 1899 he was elected to the Baltimore City Council.
Born in Charlotte County and reared at Slate Hill from the age of 5 by his widowed mother, Magdalen, and his maternal grandmother, Mary McCampbell, it is doubtful that Dick ever lived at Slate Hill after he graduated from H-SC in 1857. (The spelling of his mother’s name was changed to “Magdalene” in subsequent generations.)
But there is no doubt that Dick spent time there with his brother and sister-in-law, especially in the 1890s when he often visited the H-SC campus. John had also served in the Civil War, rising to the rank of captain and, as a lifelong bachelor, Dick looked forward to Bet’s home-cooked meals. He enjoyed nothing more than sitting on the porch after the evening meal, smoking a good cigar, and telling war stories (see photo).
We will continue the untold story of Slate Hill in Part Two.
NB: Nathaniel Venable was born in Hanover County (now Louisa), the son of Abraham Bedford Venable (1700-1765) and Martha Hannah Davis (1702-1765; m.1723). He had three sisters and six brothers. For a wedding present his father gave him 900 acres on the south side of the Appomattox River. He could have built his marital home there, but he preferred the Slate Hill tract.
