CAMPBELL COUNTY, VA - HISTORY - Campbell Chronicles and Family Sketches Family Sketches - Deering ----¤¤¤---- CAMPBELL CHRONICLES and FAMILY SKETCHES Embracing the History of CAMPBELL COUNTY, VIRGINIA 1782-1926 By R. H. EARLY With Illustrations J. P. BELL COMPANY LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 1927 Deering Edward, the son of Robert Deering of Orange, in 1782 sold Benjamin Johnson 274 acres of his land in that county for six likely negroes about sixteen years of age, and a still containing 53 gallons of liquor, and then moved to Campbell. He died in 1791 while deer hunting with a party of friends who had stopped to rest at a spring near old Shiloh church which stood near Lynch's station; when the others started again they missed Dearing and returning to their halting place found that he had expired. His will, recorded at Rustburg, names his children, Rosamond White, John, James, Anthony, Robert and William Deering, all of whom, except James appear to have died early or left the county. James married between 178O-85 Elizabeth the daughter of Robert and Penelope Lynch-Adams, and settled at a place on little Otter river between Castle Craig and Evington. He served in the Revolution from Orange county as a private in Captain Francis Taylor's Company, 2nd Virginia regiment, which was commanded successively by Colonel Alexander Spotswood and Colonel Christian Febiger, his name appearing on the pay rolls of April, 1777 and February, 1778: according to family tradition he rose to rank of captain by •which title he was always called. He died in 1811, and his will gives names of his children: -Nancy m., 18O1, Jonathan White, died before 1811. -Sally m., 18O9, Marston Clay. -Elizabeth m., 1811, Stephen Clay. -Mildred m., 18O3, John Guy. -Rosamond, born 1794, died 1836, m. 1814 Howard Y. Bennett. —General William Lynch S. born 1796, m., 1st, 1817, Mary Terry Harrison; m., 2nd, 1868, Mrs. Nellie McGregor; served in war of 1812, war with Mexico in 1848, and the Confederate war. Moved to Tennessee. Mrs. Flora Gillentine, National Officer D. A. R., is a descendant; he died in 1876. —Margaret m., 1816, John Black; record in Pittsylvania court. —Colonel James Griffin, born 18OO, m. 1834, Mary Anna, dau. of Anselm and Susan Miller-Lynch and grand-dau. of Colonel Charles Lynch. Col. Jas. G. Dearing was colonel of the county militia, then an important military organization, requiring regular drills of all able-bodied county men when the court was in session. To gratify his wife, Col. Dealing changed the spelling of his name, and it has since been so used by his branch of the family; he lived for awhile at Otterburne; d. 1843, of tuberculosis, leaving three children,—James, m. Roxie Birchert of Petersburg, and their dau. Mary L., married Judge Frank Christian of Lynchburg. James Dearing entered the Confederate army as 2nd Lieut, of artillery with command of four batteries; became commander of Ashby's Laurel Brigade; was wounded April 6, 1865, while leading a charge on the enemy which was endeavoring to burn High Bridge over the Appomattox near Farmville; was brought to a Lynchburg hospital where he died on the 22nd. —Mary, m. Thomas, son of Thos. W. Fauntleroy, resided at Aisoca, which had been the property of her uncle, Charles Henry Lynch, and was named from its supposed resemblance to the Irish valley which Moore memorialized; there her family still continue to live; at its entrance stands the walnut tree used by Revolutionary Vigilants and the old burying ground containing several generations of the family who have passed away, is on the left side of the lawn, guarded by a tall cypress tree. -Susan, m. Robert H., son of Robert A. and Betsy Terrell-Ward. Robert H. Ward was appointed judge of Campbell county court in 187O by Governor Underwood. Thomas Fauntleroy, a lieutenant in the Confederate army, was wounded in service four times, taken prisoner and carried to Johnson's Island, Lake Michigan, where he was detained four months. His eldest son, James Dearing, born in Middlesex county, was a graduate of Va. Mil. Institute in 1888, served in various engineering capacities until 1895, when he entered the Transportation Dept. of the Norfolk and Western R. R. at Norfolk until 1898, then he was enrolled as First Lieut, in the 3rd U. S. Engineers, later commissioned as captain; while serving in Cuba he assisted in mapping out military roads in Pinar Del Rio province. At this time he commanded Co. "B." Returning to the States he was mustered out at Ft. McPherson, Georgia, May 17, 1899. He was commissioned, July, 1899, first lieutenant of the 27th Vol. Infy. and helped organize the regiment at Camp Meade, Pa.; made adjutant of the 1st battalion he went with the regiment to Manila, and as captain of Co. "F" was engaged in suppressing the Philippine insurrection and expeditions against the Insurrectos under Generals Pio Del Pilar and Licerio Geronimo. Afterwards Captain Fauntleroy was appointed city engineer of Manila and had charge of the construction of Junita Market (covering an acre of ground) and of Santa Cruz bridge spanning Passig river about the center of the city. For two years he was a member of the Governing Board of Occidental Negros Province, and as provincial supervisor was in charge of a large program of road and bridge building. It was at his own request in .December, 19OO, when his regiment was ordered back to the United States, that he was transferred to the Provost Marshall's office (General Franklin Bell) at Manila, where he helped to organize the city's native police force, and became in Jan'y, 19O1, assistant city engineer, retaining his military rank until June, when all volunteers were musted out of service. In 19O2 he returned to this country and was married to Frances Hamilton Fox of Evington, Campbell county, afterwards returning to the Philippines where he was made Chief of Provincial Supervisors in the islands with control of all work of 35 supervisors. In this capacity, Dearing inaugurated the road movement there which resulted in one of the most wonderful road systems in the •world. In 1904 he was made Sanitary Engineer and had charge of the measure taken to eradicate cholera, bubonic plague and other tropical epidemics. During this period the proper sanitation of Manila with a population of 25O,OOO, was given into his charge, as well as construction of most of the buildings, sewage plant, and water supply system for the Culion Leper Colony, having then 5OO lepers. Returning in 19O6, Capt. Fauntleroy entered the U. S. Reclamation Service. "Until its completion he superintended construction of the Laguna Dam near Yuma, Arizona, practically a mile long and 12 miles from a railroad in the deserts of Arizona. In 19O9 he took charge of construction of Bumping Lake Dam, in Washington State, but later was transferred back to Yuma as Resident Engineer of canals and ditches below Laguna Dam. Late in 1910 and beginning of 1911, he was engaged in field work incident to diverting Colorado river back to its old channel, employing 1,OOO workmen. He afterwards had the building of power house, cableways, roads, etc., at Elephant Butte Dam, New Mexico. In 1812 Fauntleroy left Reclamation Service and took charge of construction of Lake Hattie Dam near Laramie, Wyoming, an earth structure one and one-half miles long and SO feet high; also construction of irrigation ditches covering over 1OO,OOO acres, and of the so-called "Highline" canal, which if completed, would have been 5O feet wide, around the summit of-Medicine Bow Mountains at a 9,OOO feet elevation. In 1914 he entered the Bureau of Public Roads as Senior Highway Engineer, but shortly afterwards was placed in charge of construction of 32 miles of road in Fairfax Co., Va. In 1915-16 he was in charge of the Bureau of Public Roads7 economic investigations until appointed District Engineer when he had charge of all Federal Aid work in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, and was instrumental in organizing the State Highway Department in Texas; was finally appointed State Highway Engineer of Texas, which position he resigned in 1924 and re-entered the Bureau of Public Roads as Highway Engineer in charge of all Federal Aid High waywork in Virginia. Capt. Fauntleroy is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and also of the American Association of Engineers; he now resides at Richmond, Va. Juliet Fauntleroy, a sister of Captain Fauntleroy, holds position of teacher in Altavista schools, is a student of natural history and a genealogist. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. 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