Faure/Foree Family of Ruddell’s Station

F O R D F a m i l y ( F A U R E, F O R E E )

Prince Edward County, Virginia

Peter Ford Jr. was born “Pierre Faure” about 1706 in Manakin Town, Henrico County, Virginia. He was the son of Huguenot parents Pierre Faure, Sr. and Mary Agee natives of St. Severe, Berry, France. The family arrived in the Colonies March 5, 1700 aboard the ship La Nassau and was part of a large group of Huguenot refugees fleeing from France. King Louis the XIV of France set into motion an intensive campaign against toleration of Huguenots. He resolved to “convert the heretics, to constrict further their religious rights, and to root up heresy once and for all.” In 1685 he revoked the Edict of Nantyes by promulgating the Edict of Fontainebleau, which prohibited Huguenot worship and education. All meetinghouses were to be used as Catholic Churches. This and other restrictions led to the Faure and other families to flee from France to the English Colonies. [1]

They soon settled in Manakin Town where on May 12, 1705 Pierre’s father was naturalized in America. He was one of the founders of the Huguenot settlement at Manakin Town, in Henrico County. The Faure name eventually became anglicized to Ford, Fore and Foree all of which are used by descendants today. [2]

King William III aided the families when he ordered Governor Francis Nicholson of Virginia to make grants of land to these French refugees to help settle them. The board of trade intended to settle the first company in Norfolk County, Virginia. Since no vacant or undisputed land existed here, the Virginia Council decided on August 8, 1700, that the French refugees should be seated in Henrico County at Manakin Town. This area was referred to as the “World’s End,” a common designation for the Falls of the James River. The Virginia Council reserved ten thousand acres of fertile land in the Piedmont region of the James River and each family was entitled to receive 133 acres. During the first ten years of settlement only about half of the tract was apportioned among the refugees. Pierre eventually acquired several hundred acres of land on the James River. The elder Pierre died in 1744 leaving all his land holdings to his children.[3]

Peter Jr. was married in 1742 to Marie Gaudwin, the daughter of Isaac and Mary Gaudwin. Peter and Marie had thirteen children: Judith, Joseph, Peter, Archaleus, William, Hezekiah, Jesse, Mary, John, Francis, Martha, Keziah and Silas. Soon after the birth of Silas in 1766 Marie died.

Peter moved to Kentucky during the winter of 1779/1780 with seven of his children along with some grandchildren and settled at Martin’s Station on the banks of the Stoner Creek. With Peter on his trek to Kentucky were his daughter Mary and her husband, John Dulin; Hezekiah with his wife, Elizabeth and their two children Mary and Dosha; Judith, Hezekiah, Martha, Keziah, and Peter with his wife Sally Pryor and their son John.

As spring began to take hold the settlers quickly moved about making preparations to plant an early crop of corn. Peter made an improvement on a piece of land located on the North Fork of Licking River, which entitled him to a preemption of 400 acres. As the early spring allowed the settlers to plant their crops the Indians began their forays into the settlements. In March 1780, Martin’s Station came under a severe attack by a band of Indians who killed some and wounded others.

The inhabitants of Martin’s Station were ordered into service in March under the command of Captain Charles Gatliff. In this company were Hezekiah, Peter and John “Fore.” Silas mentioned in his pension application dated September 2, 1844 that his father Peter had died in June of 1780. The muster roll of Captain Gatliff’s company shows Peter “Fore” as being discharged on June 1, 1780 while another record indicates he was a “soldier in actual service” who found his “own rations of corn and salt from the 10th day of March till the 21st day of June 1780 at Martin’s Station.” Hezekiah and John were paid for the same to June 26, 1780 when the station was captured. The biography of Judge Joseph P. Foree says “the great-grandfather of the Judge [Peter Ford], was massacred by the Indians in Bourbon County at a very early day in the settlement of Kentucky, and seven of his children held captives by the savages three or four years.”[4]

On June 26, 1780, Martin’s Station was captured and Peter’s children were marched northward to Detroit. [The pension of Silas Fore should shed more light on who was taken] Silas, in his pension recounted some details of his capture: [to be more accurately quoted when pension papers arrive]

“Silas Foree was born 1 January 1766 in Prince Edward County, Va. Soon after his birth his mother died leaving 13 children. In the winter of [1779/80] his father Peter Force and 7 children came to Martins Station in Bourbon Co., Ky. In March [1780] the Indians attacked. In June [1780] his father died. Also in that month Ruddles Station was attacked and they heard the firing at Martins Station. Two men were sent out for reinforcements and one of them, McGuire, was captured. Some British officers brought McGuire to the fort and demanded surrender. McGuire convinced them it was useless to resist and the station capitulated.”

“Martins Station was commanded at that time by Charles Gatliffe, but he was absent at the time the fort was taken. He had gone to the salt works. The prisoners were taken to Detroit and exchanged 4 years later. Silas tells about what happened to his brothers and sisters and lists persons he remembered as living at the fort at that time: David White, Joel Hill, Vanhook, Wm. Whitesides, Soloman Litton, William McGuire, Capt. Duncan, Chas. Gatliffe, Lovelace, Saml Potter, Wm. Foster, Thos. Foster, Thos. Berry, Wm. Leforce, Mahan, Wm. Mahan, Thos. Mahan.”

The family made the long march to Detroit and tragically Judith Ford, who could not keep up with the rest was tomahawked and scalped by the Indians. The family spent a majority of their captivity in Detroit and Montreal until the end of the Revolutionary War. John and Mary Dulin may have been kept at Michlimackinac as their son Jesse was born in captivity there. Hezekiah, his wife Elizabeth and their two daughters were prisoners most of the time in Detroit. While there a daughter Judith was born, probably named in honor of Hezekiah’s sister who was killed by the Indians enroute to Detroit. Hezekiah, Elizabeth, Mary, Dosha, Judith, Keziah, Silas and John Ford were paroled on July 18, 1783 and ordered home via Ticonderoga by Governor Hamilton.[5]

Members of the Ford family returned to Kentucky settling in Jefferson, Henry and Shelby Counties. Judith was born November 3, 1742 in Henrico County, Virginia. She accompanied her father to Kentucky and was captured with her family at Marin’s Station. She was killed in 1780 by the Indians enroute to Detroit for not being able to keep up with the rest of the prisoners.

Joseph was born May 31, 1744 in Henrico County, Virginia and died 1835 in Shelby County, Kentucky. He was married twice, first to Mary Brackett of Virginia then to Ann Gevaudan about 1774. He and Ann had at least one child, Mary, who was born January 3, 1775.

Peter III was born October 28, 1745 (or 25 November) in Henrico County, Virginia and died March 20, 1844 in Henry County, Kentucky. He married Sarah “Sally” Pryor about 1766. She was born about 1746 in Virginia and died about 1802. Peter and his family were probably at Martin’s Station when it was captured in 1780. The bio of Lydia Posey, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Thomasson) Foree, and granddaughter of Peter III stated “Her father, a native of Virginia, came to Kentucky with his father in 1780, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. Her grandfather, Peter Foree, a native of Virginia, served for a short time during the Revolutionary war.” Peter and Sally had the following children before going to Kentucky: Celia, John, Pryor, Littleberry, Julia, Augustine and Joseph who was born about 1776. There next child, Peter, was born June 4, 1783 and the family’s captivity and separation may account for the seven year span between Joseph and Peter’s births. They had one other child, William who was born in 1784. It appears from the place of birth of Peter and William that the family resided in North Carolina before returning to Kentucky and settling in Henry County.

Archaleus was born June 22, 1747 in Henrico County, Virginia and died in South Carolina. He was married to Rachel who it is believed may have had the maiden name of Manson. Archaleus didn’t follow his father to Kentucky rather he and his family lived for a while in Union County, South Carolina. Archaleus was a building contractor by trade and was responsible for building the Union County Court house. Archaleus and Rachel had the at least one known child named Lewis.

William was born May 2, 1749 in Henrico County Virginia and died about 1810 in Henry County, Kentucky.

Francis married Susannah Walker about 1787 in North Carolina. She was the daughter of James and Sarah (Warren) Walker. They had the following children: Nancy, William H., Martha, Mary G. and Elizabeth.

Martha was with her father when the family was captured and married “General” Smith, a British officer in Montreal.[6]

Hezekiah was born December 29, 1759 in Henrico County, Virginia and died December 19, 1848 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Hezekiah and his wife Elizabeth had at least three children: Mary, Dosha and Judith who was born in Canada while the family was in captivity.

Jesse was born about 1761 in Prince Edward County, Virginia and died November 3, 1838 in Oldham County, Kentucky. He married Cordelia Ricketts in Virginia. Their children were: Sarah born October 11, 1781, Hezekiah born about 1782 and Calvin born about 1785 all in Prince Edward County, Virginia. [See pension of Jesse Foree]

Keziah Foree was born about 1762 in Prince Edward County, Virginia and died August 11, 1850 [August 14, 1830 in other sources]. She married Joseph Wyckoff, a fellow prisoner, July 7, 1783 in Montreal. He was the son of Peter and Jane (Cornell) Wyckoff and was born January 05, 1760 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and died July 25, 1810 in Romulus, Seneca Co, NY. Joseph had been taken prisoner on the Susquehanna River in April of 1779 with his father Peter, brother Cornelius and possibly others. They were held as prisoners in Montreal until the end of the Revolutionary War. Joseph was released from captivity with Keziah soon after their marriage. Joseph and Keziah had the following children: Peter born September 04, 1784, Mary born September 14, 1785, Jane born December 19, 1787, Margaret born May 09, 1789, Judith born November 19, 1790, Joseph born June 25, 1793, William born June 18, 1796, John born September 28, 1801 and Nancy born October 04, 1808.

Mary was born about 1764 in Prince Edward County, Virginia and was married to John Dulin. They were both captured with the others at Martin’s Station carried northward. Records indicate that their son Jesse was born at Michlimackinac while the family was prisoner there. They eventually settled near Natchez, Missouri. [More info about them needed, other children?]

John was born about 1765 in Prince Edward County, Virginia and died in Georgia. He married Sarah Sublette March 27, 1782.

Silas was born January 1, 1766 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. He accompanied his father to Kentucky and was captured with his brothers and sisters. He married in Prince Edward County, Virginia May 1793 to Sarah Beasley. They eventually moved to Henry County, Kentucky were Silas filed for a Revolutionary War pension in 1844, but it was rejected. He died in Henry County, Kentucky July 4, 1859.

Contributors:

Judith Alef JBALEF@aol.com

Other possible things to research:

 “John Dulin/Dowlin/Doolin and his wife Mary Ford, daughter of Peter and Mary [Foree] they were taken prisoner to Detroit; their first son Jesse has his birth listed as Michilimackinac on his baptismal papers from Ste. Genevieve, MO, 1800.”  (e-mail of Judith Alef <JBALEF@aol.com>)

· Revolutionary War Pension of Private Joseph Foree, Virginia Militia, 1834, $28.33, age 92 [b. 31 May 1744] son of Peter Faure.

· Revolutionary War Pension of Silas Foree.

From the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

· Peter Foree House, Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Vol. 109, Issue 6, June 1975.

· Faure – Foree – Gaudwin Record, Virginia, Ash Tree Echo, Vol. 10, Issue 4, October 1975.

· Ford – Fore – Foree – Faure Record, Virginia, Ash Tree Echo, Vol. 16, Issue 3, July 1981.

· James Foree Memoirs, Kentucky, California, Ash Tree Echo, Vol. 13, Issue 3, July 1975.

· Jesse Foree, b. 1761, Revolutionary War, Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Bluegrass Roots, Vol 16, Issue 3, Fall 1989.

· Joseph Foree 1826 Letter, Shelby County, Kentucky, Ash Tree Echo, Vol. 10, Issue 4, October 1975.

· Joshua Foree Bible Record, Shelby County, Kentucky, Ash Tree Echo, Vol. 6, Issue 2, April 1971.

· Peter Foree Pension Record, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas City Genealogist, Vol. 7, Issue 1, July 1966.

· Peter Foree, Shelby County, Kentucky, Ash Tree Echo, Vol. 5, Issue 2, April 1970.