Published in 1938

HIS book was written to meet the need of a permanent record of the history of the descendants of four brothers of the old Virginia family of Col. Samuel DuVal of “Mt. Comfort,” Henrico County, Va.   On this plantation of five hundred acres was built the Chestnut  Hill and  Highland  Park additions of the present city of Richmond,  Va. The book is divided into four parts which contain the various records of the four brothers,    Maj.  William   DuVal, Col. Daniel DuVal, Col. Samuel Sheperd DuVal and Maj. Claiborne DuVal.     They are  taken up  in the  order of their emigration to Kentucky.   Their descendants married into many of the prominent early families of Virginia, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee,  Louisiana, and Texas, and have scattered into many states where they have helped make history.  Many of them including present generation have held posts of responsibility and high honor.

The Huguenots have blessed and enriched every land to which they fled after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. Of all these refugees who gladly availed themselves of the lure of New World protection and opportunity, none have been more patriotic and zealous in maintaining the high ideals of American citizenship than this old Virginia family of  DuVal. Thei_r descendants stand high on the rolls of naval, military, legal, educational, civil, and religious annals.  Their devotion to their adopted country was equaled only by their loyalty to their  Huguenot principles of truth and right, and their pride in their DuVal-Claiborne pedigree.

In the addenda of this book, as well as in various individual records will be found information that will enable any descendant of these four brothers to obtain data necessary for  membership in such patriotic organizations as S. A. R., D. A. R-., Patriots and Founders, Colonial  Dames,  F.  F.  V.’s and  Huguenot  Society as well as Sons and  Daughters of 1812 and the  U. D.  C.’s.  This is a most 1-1nusual feature in family histories. Such data would, if procured through professional genealogists cost fro1n $25.00 up. The author has spent four years and spared neither time, strength nor money to secure this valuable data, which she gladly includes for the benefit of the DuVal descendants.
Further, in the addenda, containing records of the Pope-“vVash­ ington-Olaiborne-Russell-Bolling-Baskette families is coin­ piled history that should enrich the minds, inspire the souls and thrill the hearts of all their posterity who read “Du Vals of Kentucky.” In conclusion these records are printed as given by various members of this family of DuVal. Also are given the legends of romances and experiences, amusing or sad, that every family of ten generations accumulates through the passing of the years.

FOREWORD
THERE is nothing new under the sun” someone has said. This fact, if it be such, can aptly be applied to these records which have been accumulated atter four years of endless letter writing and effort. Not every one realizes the use of gathering family statistics, possibly contented like the man who has been often quoted as describing the circumference of his outlook on life thus: “Me and my wife, my son John and his wife-us four and no more.” It is not this narrow conception of family pride that has prompted this feeble and often seemingly futile effort at assembling as many records as could be found of the descendants of one of the most prominent and loyal of the old Huguenot families that refugeed to Virginia. after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in Frances.
It was from the debt of love owing to the memory of a precious mother who began this compilation, but whose fingers faltered and failed when time and death arrested their task, that we desired to get the records of her ancestors in some sort of permanent shape, to be passed on to the coming generations of this family, now scat­tered through many states of our country. We feel that the sacred influence of the past will bless our efforts to give this information for the benefit of the future.
We realize that these records are far from complete, but are herewith compiled, until some later historian of the DuVals of Kentucky can be more successful in securing more desired informa­tion from the descendants not represented here. We hope that this will prove but the beginning of a more complete history of the Kentucky DuVals descended from Col. Samuel DuVal, of “Mt. Comfort,” Virginia.
Fearing the uncertainty of life and encroaching disabilities of age, we have put these records into this shape until a future method of preservation can be determined upon by 1nembers of the DuVal
IX

CHAPTER I

OIUR ANCESTORS

B EFORE submitting statistics as they have been furnished by
various Kentucky EuVal descendants, we wish to record
briefly some of the history of our honored ancestors, Daniel DuVal,
Chevalier de France, a Huguenot refugee to Virginia, and his
distinguished son, Col. Samuel DuVal of “Mt. Comfort,” Rich¬
mond, Virginia.

Early in the eighteenth century four ship loads of Huguenot
emigrants sought refuge on the hospitable shores of Virginia. Many
of them were given land and cared for by the Virginia authorities
and settled at Manikintown, north of Richmond. The founder of
the Virginia family of DuVal was not of these emigrants, but it
seems he was financially able to care for himself and the devoted
French bride, whom he married in France, Philadelphia DuBois,
daughter of Jean DuBois and his wife, Marie Deyaget. Jean DuBois
was the only brother of the famous Abbe DuBois, Cardinal and
prime minister of France, one of the wealthiest and most powerful
men of that time. Under his protection, his neice was advised to
disguise herself as a courier of the King and escaped to England
where she joined her husband who had been compelled by his con¬
victions of conscience to give up his native home and sought refuge
in friendly England.

Record found in old Bible belonging to Mr. John D. Easley,
Attorney, Lynchburg, Virginia, as it appears in William md Mary
Quarterly, 2nd Series, Volume 12, page 203:

CHAPTER II

Daniel DuVal

Daniel DuVal came to Gloucester County, Virginia, March 5,
1701, on the ship “Nassau,” Captain Tragian commanding, having
sailed from Blackwall in London on December 8, 1700. He seems
to have settled in Ware Parrish, and there is still standing the
beautiful old church of Ware Parrish, established 1650, a picture
of which can be found on page 206 of “Homes and Gardens in Old
Virginia.” No doubt that the loyal Protestant Daniel DuVal was a
member of this church. Too much reverence on the part of us who
are his descendants cannot be paid to the memory of this Huguenot
gentleman, an honored Chevalier de France, a title equivalent to
the present one of Knight in England. The earliest of the name
that can be traced in Normandy France is one Richard DuVal,
1260, Sieur de France, a title of respect. The spelling of the name
as used by the sons and grandsons of Daniel DuVal is with a
capital V and only one l.

There was an emigrant from Alsace-Lorraine by the name of
Mareen Duvall who settled in Maryland, but no proof of any rela¬
tionship between the two families has ever been established, although
many descendants of both have sometimes thought they were of the
same origin. Mareen Duvall, from brewsters or winesters in Alsace-
Lorraine came to Maryland in 1659, and is the progenitor of the
Maryland Duvalls, but no kin whatever to the Virginia Huguenot,
Daniel DuVal from Normandy. Daniel DuVal and Philadelphia
DuBois had four sons and one daughter, viz.:

1. William DuVal of Gloucester Co., Petsworth Parrish, d. 1784.

2. Daniel DuVal II, Caroline Co., d. 1777.

3. Benjamin, first Caroline then Henrico, d. 1770.

4. Samuel DuVal b. 1714, lived in King William Co., then in
Henrico Co., d. in 1784 at “Mt. Comfort,” his plantation home

4

DuVals of Kentucky from Virginia

of over 400 acres, now a part of Chestnut Hill and Highland
Park in the present City of Richmond, Virginia.

5. Mary DuVal b. in Gloucester Co., m. Mr. Amos in Surry Co.

We are more particularly interested in the descendants of the
fourth son, Samuel DuVal, who married Lucie Claiborne, daughter
of William Claiborne IV of “Romaneoke,” a direct descendant of
Secretary William Claiborne of Colonial Virginia, born in England
1587, and younger son of an ancient family of Westmoreland.

William Claiborne was prominent in early Virginia affairs.*
He came of a long and honorable ancestry, dating back, according
to well authenticated records of the English de Claibornes, to Eric
their ancestor who lived at the time of Serue, grandfather of
Abraham. Serue was a contemporary with Eric, King of the Goths
in Scandinavia. Coming down the centuries through various kings
and noblemen, from Alfred the Great, including Henry II, John,
Henry III, Edward I, William the Conqueror, Malcolm II of Scot¬
land and various Earls, Princes and Barons, we find the Virginia
founder of the American family of Claibornes a natural born ruler
and dictator; and we, who through his descendant Lucie Claiborne,
have in our veins some trace of the Claiborne blood can readily
recognize their family traits in ourselves. For instance, do we
persist in our determination to dominate in the various situations
arising in our life paths? Are we stubborn? Do we think we are
right, and our way must be the way? Are we dictatorial, high¬
headed, ruthless in our determination to reach the decisions of our
own judgment, in spite of anything or anybody that presumes to
cross our will? Then our Claiborne blood, inherited tendencies
through no fault of ours, predominates. It is royal, yes, and does
not easily bend to that highest of standards—“noblesse oblige.”
But fortunately for us (and those who have to live with us, our
“in-laws” and “allied”) this Claiborne blood has been mixed with
that gentler blood of the refined and gracious Huguenot ancestry,
who were too deeply conscientious to bow submissively to a King [5]
whom they could not respect. They refused to dishonor their convictions of truth by pretending faith in a religious system they could not accept or follow. So true they were to their sense of right nd truth, that they gave up their homes and native land, bid a
reluctant farewell to their relations and turned their faces to the welcoming shores of a new country that promised them freedom from religious persecution, and room to re-establish their families and fortunes under kindlier protection.

Thus France lost the best of her citizenship, as proved by their
history in the countries to which they fled. Everywhere they went,
they brightened and blessed and enriched their land of adoption by
their joyousness of character, variety of talents, and the charm of
their quick adaptability to make life social and refined.

At the same time, they retained a deep rich vein of religious
devotion, that, underlying their cheerful acceptance of the inevitable
vicissitudes of pioneer life, helped soften their hardships and made
them welcomed in their new homes.

They never neglected the social amenities of life and nourished
their love of beautiful things, as shown by Philadelphia DuBois,
who brought with her a lovely gold tureen and six goblets from
la belle France (a wedding present no doubt from her wealthy and
influential uncle, the powerful Cardinal Abbe DuBois). She also
brought a French perfume bottle of a marvelous shade of blue (now
in possession of her great, great, great grand-daughter, Mrs. C. H.
Buchanan of Richmond, Kentucky), together with a fragile but
exquisite little bow of lace that was used by Mrs. Buchanan on her
wedding bouquet at her fiftieth wedding anniversary, in Richmond,
Kentucky, on October 20, 1935.

It is most regrettable that the gold tureen and goblets that were
in possession of the descendants of Major William DuVal, oldest
son of Col. Samuel DuVal, should have become lost sight of, and
by no fault of the family who did not even know that these priceless
heirlooms had been put up for private sale, and lost to their rightful
heritage through the callous indifference of a much disliked “in¬
law” of alien origin. [6]

Daniel DuVal soon became established as an architect and joiner
in which prolific profession his son Samuel seems to have joined
him. The Huguenots, no matter how noble their blood in France,
were not afraid to work. Their industry and energy soon gave them
high rank in their adopted lands. They were good investors, good
business men and had rare foresight. In the early history of Ken¬
tucky, real estate developments, no less than 100,000 acres of land,
passed through their hands either as exchange investments or home¬
steads. This we learn from recorded statistics on file in the office
of the Clerk of the Civil Court of Appeals in Frankfort, Kentucky,
and listed in a wonderful way in the book “Old Kentucky Land
Grants, and Entries and Deeds,” by Jillson. These have been copied
and are now in the possession of the writer, and but for the space
and cost, they could have been included in these records.
DuVal Family Association

Nashville, Tenn., 1936

CHAPTER III
Colonel Samuel DuVal Records

Chevalier Daniel DuVal married Philadelphia DuBois in France.
Came as Huguenot refugees to Gloucester County, Virginia, in
1701. Issue, among others:

Samuel DuVal (1714-1784) married Lucie Claiborne, issue:

1. William DuVal (Major in Revolution) m. (1) Ann Pope (2)
Susan B. Christian.

2. Samuel Sheperd (Colonel in Revolution) m. (1) Margaret
Binns, (2) Anne Everard Bolling.

3. Daniel (Colonel in Revolutionary War), m. Mary Brooke.

4. Philip m. Elizabeth Christian (sister to above Susan B. Chris-
tion).

5. Claiborne m. Elizabeth Pope.

6. Polly m. Colonel Nathaniel Pope VI.

7. Philadelphia m. (1) Major Andrew Dunscomb (2) William
Dawson.

8. Lucy DuVal m. John Pope.

(These Pope-DuVal marriages were all brothers and sisters, chil¬
dren of Samuel DuVal and Nathaniel Pope 5th generation.)*

Samuel DuVal died at “Mt. Comfort,” 1784, his will proved
March 1, 1784, and his son, Claiborne, qualified as executor.

Polly DuVal m. April 23, 1784, Colonel Nathaniel Pope IV.

Philadelphia DuVal m. October 14, 1784, Major Andrew Duns¬
comb.

Claiborne DuVal m. (June 8, 1780) Elizabeth Pope, Louisa
Co., Va.

Governor William Pope DuVal (son of Major William DuVal
and Anne Pope) born at his father’s home, corner Sixth and Grace
Streets, Richmond, in 1784 [8]

William DuVal, oldest brother of Samuel DuVal also died in
1784.

Two deaths, two marriages and a birth make the year 1784 a
notable one in the DuVal family.

After he purchased and built his mansion at “Mt. Comfort/’
Samuel DuVal soon became identified with the early social and
political life of the then little town on Shockoe Creek, of 350 in¬
habitants. He occupied important positions of trust and responsi¬
bility in its development, and was appointed on a Board of Trustees
of the town in 1752, along with Peter Randolph, William Byrd,
Thomas Atchison, Samuel Glandone and John Pleasants, names
held in honor by the citizenship of early Richmond.

Again in 1778, another act naming Samuel DuVal and William
Byrd, Richard Randolph, Archibald Brice, William Randolph and
others, gave them “authority to lay off the ‘Publick Square/ also
streets, and widen all streets on ‘Shockoe Hill’ to a breadth of not
less than eighty and not more than a hundred feet.” They were
directed to enlarge the town, and open Shockoe Creek.

Samuel DuVal had a brother, Benjamin DuVal, whose estate was
west of Richmond, on what was known as the Tuckahoe track, and
these two brothers and their descendants played a prominent part
in the early development of the city, now one of the most noted and
progressive capitols of any of the southern states, and even yet
retaining much of the flavor and charm and beauty of her rich and
varied history.

Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, Virginia was
an established colony for eighteen years. But for her charitable
and neighborly kindness in coming to their rescue, they might have
perished from starvation and exposure during the first bitter year
of their experience.

Virginia was the leader in developing an enthusiastic passion for
self-government, and in this patriotic fervor, Samuel DuVal had a
trusted position as member of the house of burgesses in 1773 and
also representing Richmond in Henrico County, in both the first
Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, 1774, and the second in [9]

Richmond, 1775. He was present in that historic birthplace of
American freedom, St. John’s Church, of which he was a vestryman
for thirty-two years (having been elected vestryman in August,
1752), when he heard that inimitable call for “freedom or death/ 7
as Patrick Henry uttered his immortal challenge that still rings
around the world.*

Samuel DuVal’s body lies under one of those sacred tombstones
in St. John’s churchyard, awaiting the call of the resurrection—
stones so old and weathered by time that their lettering has long
become illegible.

During the Revolutionary War, Samuel DuVal and four of his
sons bore prominent positions. One of these sons, Colonel Daniel
DuVal, was with Lafayette and witnessed the final triumph of
freedom at Yorktown.

Samuel DuVal was on the important Committee of Safety and
Correspondence, and was cited as having furnished blankets and
provisions for Lafayette’s army. His home, “Mt. Comfort,” the
first brick house in Richmond, was a center of hospitality and en¬
tertainment, and with such a hostess as Lucie Claiborne, his wife,
with her royal lineage, it became noted for its social influence, and
numbered among its guests such leading spirits as George Wash¬
ington, Thomas Jefferson, and other notables of that era. It was
from such a home as this that two of her sons, Samuel Sheperd
and Claiborne, came to settle in the new land of alluring romance
and opportunity—Kentucky.

The Samuel DuVal who served in the Kentucky legislature, as
representative from Mercer County, never married.

 

Claiborne Ancestry

Note: It may be interesting to give here the antecedents of Lucie
Claiborne. She was the daughter of William Claiborne IV, m. Elizabeth,
daughter of Col. Philip Whitehead. Their issue, besides Lucie, were Wil¬
liam Claiborne, Philip Whitehead Claiborne, Elizabeth Claiborne, also
Philadelphia Claiborne.

William Claiborne IV, born at “Romancoke” was son of William
Claiborne III (d. 1705) also lived at “Romancoke,” King William
Co., Virginia, married daughter of John Dandridge. His father,
Lieut. Colonel William Claiborne II married Elizabeth Wilkes.
Died 1682. Distinguished himself in service against the Indians,
and there was formerly on record at King William Court House a
certificate of his valor, dated March 29, 1677, and attested by
Nathaniel Bacon, Philip Ludwell, Ralph Wormeley and Richard
Lee (Campbell’s “History of Virginia,” p. 324). He was the oldest
son of Secretary William Claiborne and Jane Buller of London.

Secretary William Claiborne, born 1587, came to Virginia in the
ship “George,” with Sir Francis Wyatt in 1621, as Royal Surveyor
for the “Colony of Jamestown” and remained in Virginia and
played a prominent part in the development of the new colony. His
picture, showing him to have been a strikingly handsome man of
regal bearing, now hangs in the Library of the State Capitol at
Richmond. Another life-size portrait hangs on the walls of the
library of William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Va. [22]

In “History of Maryland/* by Matthew Page Andrews, page 54,
we find that Captain John Boteler was mentioned as friend and
“brother-in-law” of Secretary Claiborne whose second wife was
Elizabeth Boteler or sometimes called Bntler. Governor Calvert
speaks of this “brother-in-law** in a letter as Boteler and in same
letter as Butler. He also spells the name of Claiborne as “Clay-
bourn** and on the tombstone of Major Claiborne DuVal in Logan
County, Kentucky, near Franklin, the name is spelled “Clybourn.**

It was usually spelled back in England “Cliburne** or “Cleburne**
but Secretary William Claiborne, of “Romancoke,** founder of the
American family, dropped the “de** from his name and changed the
name to “Claiborne** and his descendants generally spell it so, with
an occasional exception to this present day.

The author of “William Claiborne of Virginia** says this: “It is
the same name however as ‘Clibborn,* ‘Cleburne* or ‘Cliburn,* and
all the people who bear it are doubtless of the same origin. It is a
name hoary with age, and has ever been noble and honorable.**

Ferguson derives it from Anglo-Saxon “Clif** a hill; and
“burne,** a stream. The Norse or Danish give it as “Klifbrunner,**
the cliff stream.

Secretary William Claiborne of “Romancoke** was seventh in line
from John de Cliburne, lord of the manor of Cleburne, who made
a great alliance by his marriage to Elizabeth Curwen, daughter of
Sir Thomas Curwen, direct descendant of Malcolm II, King of
Scotland and of the ancient kings beginning with Alpin who died
834, accounted the noblest blood in England. Elizabeth Curwen*s
blood was “darkly, deeply beautifully blue,** her ancestor, Orme,
Lord of Seton, having married Gunilda, daughter of “Cospatrick
the Great,** first Earl of Dunbar and Northumberland, whose father,
Maldred, was younger brother of the “Gracious Duncan,** murdered
by Macbeth. (Jackson’s Curwens of Workington: Freeman’s Nor¬
man Conquests IV—89.)*

The “Romancoke** estate where Lucie Claiborne was born was
granted to Secretary William Claiborne by the Virginia Assembly [23]

COL. SAMUEL SHEPERD DUVA LINE

SECOND SON of SAMUEL DUVAL

“MT. COMFORT,” RICHMOND VIRGINIA

(Third line to be represented in Kentucky and second son to come in person)

Jacki Kellum is from the line of Colonel Samuel Sheperd DuVal

CHAPTER XVIII

Colonel Samuel Sheperd DuVal

He was the second son of Samuel DuVal of “Mt. Comfort,” near Richmond, Virginia, and Lucy Claiborne. He married twice (1) Margaret Binns circa 1772, (2) Anne Everard Bolling, direct
descendant of Pocahontas, and daughter of Archibald Bolling and his wife, Jane Randolph Bolling.*

Samuel Sheperd DuVal was a Major in the Revolution, and also is referred to as Col. Sheperd DuVal in Colonial Military Records.

That Samuel Sheperd DuVal was quite a spend-thrift is evidenced in the codicil to his father’s will, as well as his own. His father’s will was written January 24, 1783, and on August 23, 1783,
there was added the following codicil to Will of Samuel DuVal:

“I, Samuel DuVal, do by this codicil alter and revise my Will so far as it relates to my son, Samuel DuVal, and all the estate which by this will was devised and bequeathed to him, I do devise and bequeath to my son, William and Claiborne DuVal, in trust for the use and purposes hereafte declared, to wit: to permit the said Samuel DuVal to enjoy the profits of
the estate during his life for the support of him and his children, but not to be liable to the payment of his debts, and after the death of the said Samuel DuVal in trust to and for the benefit of all the children which my said son Samuel now has or may hereafter have to them and their heirs as tenants in common.”

Witnesses: J. Pope, Jr.

N. Pope, Jr.

Jack Rowland. Samuel DuVal (Seal).

Recorded in Will Book I, page 122, Henrico County Court, From Virginia Historical Index—12H222. Act authorizing the trustees of Samuel DuVal, Jr., to sell 1/5 part of Deep Run Coal Pits and to lay out the money arising from the sale thereof in other lands
and slaves for the greater benefit of the said Samuel DuVal, Jr., and his children. Samuel DuVal willed one-fifth of Deep Run Coal [120] Pits in Henrico County to his sons William and Claiborne in trust, for the support of Samuel DuVal, Jr., and children. Rent was
inadequate. Trustees gave bond and security of 3000 pounds.

From her tombstone, we find that his only daughter by his first wife was born 6-20-1773 and he must have been married in 1772 to Margaret Binns, daughter of Christopher Binns. They named her for his mother, Lucy Claiborne, and her share of the large estate of her grandfather was secured to her by the above codicil. Just how old she was when her father married the second time to Anne Everard Bolling we do not know. His children by Anne Bolling
were: Samuel Sheperd DuVal, Jr., and Archibald Bolling DuVal.
In their obituary notices the dates of their births are given thus:

His children by Anne Bolling
were: Samuel Sheperd DuVal, Jr., and Archibald Bolling DuVal.

“Samuel Sheperd DuVal, Jr., was born in Buckingham County, Va.,
1799.”

“Archibald Bolling DuVal was born in Buckingham County, Va., Novem¬
ber 6, 1799.”

-But my family descends from his first marriage and their child Lucy Claiborne Duval

No intimation or record can be found that these brothers were twins, but if they were not, then one of them must have been born quite early in 1799. We do not know the cause of this broken romance, but we do know that when her youngest DuVal child was a little four-year-old boy, she had been separated from Samuel Sheperd DuVal, also of royal blood through his Claiborne ancestry.

Anne Everard DuVal became the second wife of Col. Joseph Cabell, on October 31, 1804. Six years later, in 1810, Samuel Sheperd DuVal, with his two boys, eleven years old, followed his
brother and guardian of his children, Maj. Claiborne DuVal, to Logan County, Ky. He invested in land in Todd County, Ky., adjacent to Logan and his will was proved at Elkton May 9, 1825,
one year later than the sale of his brother Claiborne’s property, May 7, 1824, recorded in Russellville, Logan Co.

[Lucy Claiborne Duval married Samuel Bedloe Dunscomb]

Samuel Sheperd’s daughter, Lucy Claiborne, by his first wife, married Samuel Dunscomb, younger half-brother of the Andrew Dunscomb who had married Samuel Sheperd’s sister, PhiladelphiaDuVal. The DuVals were in the habit of inter-family marriagesand the marriage of Lucy Claiborne DuVal to her aunt’s brother-in-law [121]

was in line with the four Pope-Duval marriages before mentioned, and the marriages of her half-brothers, Samuel Sheperd, III, and Archibald Bolling to their cousins, Catharine Eliza and Adaline Matilda DuYal, sisters, and daughters of Maj. Claiborne DuYal.

The striking coincidences of these two brothers can be noted in
their having been born the same year, coming together to Kentucky,
marrying the same year (1819) to sisters who were their first
cousins and both of them becoming Methodist ministers.

Col. Samuel Sheperd Duval mentions the names of his Dunscomb grandsons in his will along with his two sons. After LucyClaiborne’s marriage to Samuel Dunscomb they went to New York to live and there her Dunscomb children were born:

1. Elizabeth Dunscomb, m. Major Price.

2. Daniel S. Dunscomb.

3. Samuel Duval Dunscomb.

After the death of her first husband, Lucy Claiborne Duval Dunscomb came out to Logan County, Kentucky, and lived with her father. She married 2-25-1817 Elias Harding of Logan County, Kentucky, d. 4-17-1828 and is buried on the old Harding farm, about 8 miles from Russellville, Kentucky. She had one child by her second husband, Margaret Louisa Sheperd Harding, whose name is mentioned in her grandfather’s will.

We insert here the will of Col. Samuel’Sheperd Duval, Sr. His grave has not been identified but it was believed he was buried on his own farm near Elkton, Kentucky. His will shows that he was financially embarrassed and one of his Dunscomb grandsons came to his rescue. Records of deeds show also that his daughter, Lucy Claiborne Dunscomb in two instances bought land from him in the amount of $1200 each time.

COPY OF WILL OF
SAMUEL DUVAL

In the name of God, Amen. The property that He by his Grace hath given me I dispose of in the following manner:

It is my will and desire that the old man Samuel and his wife Fanny possess their liberty and that Daniel S. Dunscomb will not suffer them ton [122] be injured. That several years ago Daniel S. Dunscomb paid for me several sums of money and in consequence thereof I gave him in possession Louis which title I confirm. I give and devise unto Daniel S. Dunscomb and
Samuel S. DuVal all my real estate to be disposed of by them for the payment of my debts. It is my will and desire that Daniel S. Dunscomb will take care of old Nanny and Washington and in consequence thereof I give and bequeath unto him and his heirs a girl called Evaline and I do
hereby appoint Daniel S. Dunscomb and Samuel S. DuVal Executors of this
my last will and Testament and that they make an equal distribution to Elizabeth Price—Daniel S. Dunscomb—Samuel S. DuVal—Archibald B. DuVal and Samuel A. (should be D) Dunscomb’s heirs.

I do hereby ratify and confirm this my last will and testament. Given
under my hand and seal in the county of Todd this day of 1825.

(Signed) Samuel DuVal (Seal)

Codicil: In drawing this my will, I omitted to give and divise to my daughter Lucy Claiburn Denning (Denning is incorrect, should be Harding—see footnote) and also Nancy Dinscomb (widow of Samuel DuVal Dunscomb) Twenty five dollars each and in drawing his my will I likewise omitted to give and bequeath to give to Margaret Levenia Hardin(g) (Tombstone records her name Margaret Louisa Shepherd Harding) her proportion of this my estate.
Given under my hand and seal in the County of Todd this day of 1825.

Samuel DuVal (Seal)

Witnesses: James Black; Joseph Black; John D. Black.
State of Kentucky

Todd County Clerk’s Office.

I, Willis L. Reeves, Clerk of said County Court do hereby certify that at aounty Court begun and held in and for Todd County at the courthouse in  Elkton on Monday the 9th day of May, 1825, the foregoing last will and testament of Samuel DuVal, deed, together with the Codicil thereto annexed produced in open Court by the Executors therein named and proved by
the oaths of James Black and Joseph Black subscribing witnesses thereto
and ordered to be recorded.

In Testimony Whereof and that the same together with this certificate
stands truly recorded in my said office I have hereto set my hand this 9th
day of May, 1825.

Willis L. Reeves (Seal)

 

Colonel Samuel Sheperd DuYal

123

DUNSCOMBE

The family of Dunscombe are of Saxon origin. They are an old race capable of being traced to a very remote period in their native County of Devon, where in ages now forgotten, ere the Normans subjugated the Saxon, they gave name of Higher and Lower Dunscombs, and in common with others of their race, suffered under Norman sway.

It has been handed down in ancestral archives, that the progenitor of the first William Dunscombe, Esq. (b. 1475, London; d. 1540; m. Miss Clement) was engaged in the Crusade to Palestine, as a king’s attendant. Having survived his perilous expedition, and after braving many a danger, and enduring privations still greater, his eyes were at length gladdened with the sight of the land of his fathers. He arrived in London, where he became located.

As respects their standing in Ireland, Edward Dunscombe, Esq.
(grandson of William Dunscombe mentioned in previous paragraph), resided at St. Finnbarry’s, in the City of Cork, 1590, and, beyond question, the family of Dunscombe is one of the oldest in that city, and with it the name is indelibly identified, for on Dunscombe’s Marsh the greatest portion of the flat of the city has been built. Edward Dunscombe, the Irish Emigrant, d. 1631; m.
Catherine Noble.

To the present day there is a town in Devonshire named Dunscombe. It is my intention to learn something of the history of this town so that it may be recorded in a future revision of this record.

We have elaborated, too much perhaps, on the origin of the family. There are two reasons for this. First, to correct the impression that we are of Irish origin. Second, that we are of Norman
origin.

The Dunscombe family in America originated from the original London family, and not from the Irish emigrant, Edward.

The family of Duncombe is supposed to be of Norman origin, and Dunscombe is defined as a variation of Duncombe in a book [124] titled “The Norman People.” In order that we may present the problem for further study we quote from page 232 of this book:

“The Duncombes or D’Engaines, from Engen or Ingen, near Boulogne, are of Norman origin. Richard and William de Ingen accompanied William the Conqueror at the invasion of England, 1066. The former in 1086, held a barony in Bucks and (Domesday Book) Vitalis D’lngen, his son, time Henry I, had Richard, who m. a daughter of Aleric de Ver, Earl of Exford,
and was baron of Batherwick, Northants. His son, Richard D’Engaine, 1165, held in Bucks from Paganel of Dudley (Black Book of the Exchequer) ; and had (1) Vitalis, ancestor of the Barons D’Engaine by writ, 1296; (2) Ralph D’Engaine (written Dungun or Dungeom in the
Testa de Neville) who held Holcombe, Oxford, and in 1253, as Ralph
D’Ungun, was Lord of Tingewick, Bucks. (The Hundred Rolls).

“From him descended the Dengaines, Dunguns or Dungeoms, gradually written Duncombe, Lords of Brickhill, Bucks, 16th century, and in the female line, the Earls of Feversham and the Baronets Duncombe.”

There is another version of the origin of the name “Engaine.” We quote from T. C. Banks’ “Dormant and Extinct Baronage of England/’ V. 1, pp. 292-294, pub. London, 1807.

“Richard Engaine, in the time of the Conqueror, to whom he held the office of chief engineer, hence the name D’Engaine, from ‘De Ingenlis’.”

Space does not permit us to go into the many reasons why we are
inclined to the opinion that the family is of Saxon origin, and it
does seem quite a coincidence that Duncombe and Dunscombe
could be so similiar, and yet not of the same ancestry.

For the benefit of my son, I should like to record the coincidence
that his mother’s paternal ancestors originated in the County Devon,
and I like to speculate on the probability that the Eichards and the
Dunscombes knew one another, and possibly intermarried, in the
centuries gone by.

Thomas Dunscombe was born in London. He married Hannah Jadwin, and it is due to this marriage that we owe the existence of our family in Bermuda and the United States.

Hannah Jadwin was the daughter of Thomas Jadwin, one of the original adventurers of the second Virginia Company. Thomas Jadwin owned two shares in the Sommers Islands (Bermuda) which [125]

he willed to his son-in-law, Thomas Dunscombe and his daughter, Hannah.* These two shares of land were in Pembroke tribe, and listed as lot 5 in Norwood’s map of the Bermudas, first published complete in 1626. It appears they amounted to only 49 acres (24% acres per share) and are described by Norwood as follows: “Abutting at ye wouth and uppon Crow’s lane and at ye north end upon ye north side sea. Lying between ye lands formerly Sir Lawrence
Hides to ye eastward and ye lands formerly ye Earl of Pembroke to ye westward.”

This reference to the Earl of Pembroke is particularly interesting as it was through the influence of his cousin, Anne, Countess of Pembroke, that William Claiborne was appointed Surveyor General of the “Old Dominion,” and came to Virginia in 1621. It is through
William Claiborne, generations later, that we trace our royal descent from the ancient kings of England.

Thomas Dunscombe and his family emigrated to Bermuda, probably between 1618 and 1627. (His son, Jadwin, was born in London, January 28, 1618 — Registers of St. Mary Aldermary,
p. 75—and we have found records of his having signed a petition for Pembroke tribe in 1626.) He was a member of the Bermuda Council, 1630 (Lefroy, v. 1, p. 507).

So far as we know Thomas and Hannah Dunscombe had four children: Jadwin, Philip, Thomas, and Samuel. Samuel emigrated to New York City about 1663, and we are descended from his son, Daniel, who died before 1699.

3. Daniel Dunscombe, mentioned in the previous paragraph, was of the third generation in the American colonies. He lived in the North Ward, NYC., and on 7-15-1699 his estate was taxed 5 pounds, 1 shillings, 2 pence. (NY Gen. Rec., v. 13, p. 84.)

4. Daniel, b. -; d. 1712; NYC; m. 7-8-1696, at Dutch Reformed Church, Helena Swan, who d. after 1-1-1731, daughter of Jacob Swan, Mariner. Commander of “Peartree” in Queen Anne’s
War, 1705; commanded brigantine “Success,” 1709. Died intestate [126] and letters of administration granted father-in-law, Jacob Swan,
6-15-1712.

5. Daniel, b. ca 1707, NYC; d. 1749, NYC; m. 7-24-1725, at Dutch Reformed Church, Maria (later anglicized to Mary) Aartze, who d. 1758. Registered as cooper, 4-1-1728. Died intestate and letters of administration granted son, Daniel, 9-13-1749. Will of Mary (Aartze) Dunscomb. (NY Hist. Sec., v. 5, p. 263.)

“I, Mary Dunscomb, of New York, widow, being sick. After payment of all debts and funeral charges, I leave all my real and personal estate to my five children; Edward, Samuel, Mary, James, Daniel. The Land to be sold as soon as possible, at discretion of my executors. I make my son, Daniel, executor, and I leave him 10 pounds before any division.” Dated 3-30-1749,
proved 11-3-1758. Present address of home, 38 Broadway, WSP.

6. Daniel, b. 1726, NYC; d. 3-3-1803, NYC; m. (1) –

Hojer (or Hoyer), daughter of Catharina Hojer, who d. 1767.vCopy of Catharina Hojer’s will follows.) Married (2) 7-8-1762 Gertrude Thurman. Registered as cooper, 6 – 2 – 1747; Captain,
French and Indian Wars, 1762; Member General Committee of 100,5-1-1775; Member NY Congress, 1776-77; Committee Safety, 1776; Council Safety, 1777; First Constitutional Committee, 1777; NY Assembly, 1777-85; Trustee and Vestryman Trinity Church, 1784-
89; Will dated 1795, Codicil dated 1802, filed in Surrogates CourNYC. Buried in North part of Trinity Churchyard.

By the first wife there were three children: Daniel, Edward, and Andrew. By the second wife one son, Samuel,,,,

WILL OF CATHARINA HOJER
(NY Hist. Sec., V. 7, p. 69)

“In the name of God, Amen. I, Catharina Hojer, of New York, widow.
I leave to my granddaughter, Rickey Hojer, and to my son, Peter, my
largest diamond ring. I leave to my grandson, Andrew Dunscomb, son of
Daniel Dunscomb, my other diamond ring. All the rest of my personal
property to be sold by my executors, and the money used to pay debts, and
a mortgage for 100 pounds, lying against the house and lot, situate and
adjoining the French churchyard in New York.”

(In will dated 6-8-1754, proved 12-4-1760, Andrew Hojer, gunsmith,
leaves to mother, Catharina Hojer, house and ground lying in Little Queen [127

Street, adjoining to French Church.—Now 62 or 64 Cedar Street. “NY Hist.
Coll.” V. 7, 15.)

(Peter Hojer, m. 5-17-1753, Elizabeth Telyou. (NY Marriages Prior to
1784.)

“I leave the said house and lot to my son Peter Hojer, for life, and then
to be sold by my executors at public vendue, and the money to be put at
interest, and ^4 to be paid to the children of Peter Hojer by his present
wife, Elizabeth, and y 2 to Daniel, Edward and Andrew Dunscomb, sons of
Daniel Dunscomb. I make my son Peter, and John Godfrey Miller, of New
York, ‘Leather Breeches Maker,’ and John Montayne, baker, executors.”
Dated 6-26-1764. Proved 6-1-1767.

Andrew Dunscomb married Philadelphia DuYal, sister of Colonel
Samuel Shepherd DuYal, and since there seems to be some error in
a portion of previous records concerning him, we are preparing a
record of data at hand, for the benefit of his direct descendants,
under separate heading.

7. Samuel, b. -, d. 1798, m. -, Lucy Claiborne Duval b. DuYal, b. ===d. 4-17-1828—daughter of Col. Samuel Shepherd DuYal and his first wife, Margaret Binns. Samuel Dunscomb died intestate and letters of administration were granted his widow,
11-16-1798.

Lucy Duval Dunscomb and her three children: Samuel DuYal, Eliza G., and Daniel Shepherd, emigrated to Logan County, Ky., between the years 1805 and 1815. She was living in New York Cityas late as 1805, and the Logan County records indicate that thefirst deed to property, in her name, was dated June 29, 1815, and covered the purchase of 247% acres of land—$1,200.00—from her father. At the same time 247% acres was deeded to her eldest son, Samuel Duval Dunscomb, for a like consideration, from her father.

On July 24, 1816, Lucy Dunscomb disposed of her property. One-fourth going to each of her three children “for and in consideration of natural affection and love.” The remaining fourth was deeded to Elias Harding “in consideration of a marriage shortly to be consummated.” William and Claiborne DuYal were appointed trustees of the fourth part intended for Elias Harding, pending consummation of the marriage. These deeds were certified by Spencer

128

DuVals of Kentucky from Virginia

Curd, County Clerk, on February 18, 1817. Lucy C. Dunscomb
and Elias Harding were married February 25, 1817. (A Bible
record states 1816, but since the deeds were not offered for record
until 2-18-1817, we believe the date of marriage to have been 1817.)

Lucy and Elias Harding had one daughter, Margaret Louisa
Shepard, b. 8-13-1818, d. 10-30-1827. (Her tombstone.)

Elias Harding was born in the State of Maryland, March 21,
1776. Emigrated to the State of Kentucky, 1810, and departed
this life the 7th of July, 1838. (From Tombstone inscription.)

Lucy C. (Dunscomb) Harding was buried on the Harding farm,
about eight miles from Russellville, and the inscription on her
tombstone reads as follows: “The second beloved consort of Elias
Harding, and only daughter of Major Samuel and Margaret Du-
Val.” In addition the dates of her birth and death are given as we
have recorded them above.

The deeds referred to above will be found in Deed Book E—
1815-1817—Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky.

8. Samuel DuVal Dunscomb, b. 8-20-1792, New York City; d.
9-20-1823; married 1-18-1816, Nancy Wood Rayburn, who was b.
1-14-1797, d. 9-10-1834.

Nancy Wood Rayburn was the daughter of John (d. 11-22-1823)
and Elizabeth (d. 9-20-1823) Rayburn. She remarried, 11-20-1827,
W. C. W. Baker, at Dr. Hutchin’s Tavern, Franklin, Kentucky.
There were two Baker children: America Elizabeth Jane, b. 9-26-
1828, and John Green, b. 6-20-1830.

W. C. W. Baker was killed in the Mexican War, 1848. John
Green Baker emigrated to Southeast Missouri.

It is to be noted that Nancy Rayburn Dunscomb lost her husband
and mother on the same day, and that her father joined them in
death just two months later.

9. Daniel Shepherd Dunscomb, b. 5-3-1817, Logan County, Kentucky, d. 10-12-1876, Clay County, Arkansas; married 9-24-1838,
Mary Ann Johnson, who was born 3-25-1819, d. 7-23-1883.

Emigrated to Dunklin County, Southeast Missouri, in the spring of 1860. Farm]

3. William Thomas, b. 9-4-1846, d. 3-11-1915; m. (1) 9-28-1873, [my great great grandfather]
Susan Elizabeth Liddell* (4-2-1849—2-13-1900) ; (2) Lou-misa Giles Rayburn.

(a) Kenley Liddell, b. 1-21-1877. [my  great grandfather] was the son of William Thomas Dunscomb and Susan Elizabeth Lidell]

 

(b) William Thomas, Jr.

(c) Samuel Henry, b. 8-29-1882; m. 1-1-1902, Elizabeth
Chatham.

KENLEY LIDDELL DUNSCOMB

Kenley Liddell Dunscomb, b. 1-20-1877; Mayme Lena Whitaker
Dunscomb, b. 1-1-1879; m. 8-11-1897.

1. William Elmer Dunscomb, son, b. 8-1898, d. 12-13-1936; [my grandfather]

8-14-1920, Henretta James, b. 6-2-1901.

(a) Doris Imogene, daughter, b. 6-20-1921.

(b) William Elmer, Jr., son, b. 4-16-1924.

(c) Laura Mae, daughter, b. 12-6-1926. [my mother]

(d) James Milton, son, b. 9-12-1935, d. 12-16-1935.

2. Norman Edgar Dunscomb, son, b. 8-13-1900; m. 6-23-1924,
Martha Heinlein, b. 4-5-1904.

(a) Robert Norman, son, b. 2-21-1926.

3. Raymond Daniel Dunscomb, son, b. 12-15-1902; m. 6-31-1927,
Juanita Stires, b. 9-2-1907.

4. Mildred DeLena Dunscomb, daughter, b. 12-10-1904; m. 1-3-
1926, Roy Wood Craig, b. 3-9-1900.

(a) Omar Dell Craig, son, b. 1-28-1927.

5. Reuben Thomas Dunscomb, son, b. 12-6-1906; m. 4-26-1926,
Muriel Torrance, b. 8-26-1907.

(a) Billy Jack, son, b. 5-11-1927.

(b) Thomas Dean, son, b. 8-19-1929.

(c) William Liddell, son, b. 1-3-1935.

(d) Robert Nelson, son, b. 1-8-1936.

6. Lillie Mae Dunscomb, daughter, b. 12-3-1908; m. 6-4-1927,
William Irvin Hurst, b. 4-27-1904.

(a) William Irvin, Jr., son, b. 1-22-1929.

(b) Edward Lee, son, b. 11-6-1933.

7. Kenley Illene Dunscomb, daughter, b. 9-2-1920.

DUNSCOMBE