Letitia Amelia Buck (1803 – 1885)

Letitia Amelia Buck was the eleventh child of Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson.  She was born on April 7, 1803 and died on June 15, 1885 in Riverton, Virginia at the age of 82. She was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia.

Letitia Amelia Buck and John Mauzy Blakemore were married on July 31, 1820. John Mauzy Blakemore, the son of George Blakemore and Elizabeth Mauzy, was born on June 4, 1798. He died on July 29, 1853 of an apoplexy at the age of 55 and was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia.

John Mauzy Blakemore was said to be of "distinguished bearing" and "so meticulous in his attire that he was known as ‘Gentleman John'".

Letitia Amelia Buck and John Mauzy Blakemore purchased "Bel Air" in 1837 from her father, Thomas Buck V for $5000.  Later they sold Bel Air to William Mason Buck.  As explained by their son, Thomas Fayette Blakemore, his father had “in a thoughtless moment” endorsed some loans by a friend and had to liquidate much of his property when those loans were called.

After selling Bel Air and other properties, Letitia Amelia Buck and John Mauzy Blakemore moved to Tennessee.   In 1842, Letitia Amelia Buck and John Mauzy Blakemore lived in "Homewood", New Providence, Tennessee.  Homewood was a farm and John Mauzy Blakemore was not well suited to be a farmer.  His son, Thomas Fayette Blakemore, was called upon to manage the farm “a task which I heartily disliked”.   Homewood was sold or traded, apparently at a loss, about 1846.    Letitia Amelia Buck and John Mauzy Blakemore then returned to Front Royal and built a house called “Retreat”.  In the 1850 census, Letitia Amelia Buck Blakemore and John Mauzy Blakemore are living in Warren County, Virginia.  According to his son, Thomas, John Mauzy Blakemore died in 1853 of an apoplexy.

In the 1860 census, Letitia Amelia Buck Blakemore is shown as a “Retired Lady” living on the farm of J. R. Richards and having a personal estate of $2800.  J. R. Richards was the son-in-law of Letitia Amelia Buck Blakemore being the second husband of her daughter Elizabeth Blakemore.  J. R. Richards is shown as having real estate or $26500 and personal estate of $19030.  Most people in the census have no entry under real estate or personal estate.

John Mauzy Blakemore and Letitia Amelia Buck had five children:

• Thomas Fayette Blakemore, born 1822; married Susan Payne Bayly, 1848; died 1896
• Elizabeth Mauzy Blakemore, born 1825; married Richard B. Bayly, 1841; married James Russell Richards, 1851; died 1891
• William Richardson Blakemore was born and died in 1832
• Marcus Newton Blakemore, born 1835; married Angela Warner, 1866
• Richard Mauzy Blakemore, born 1843; married Lily Bowen, 1892; died 1924

Elizabeth Price Buck (1794-1871)

Elizabeth Price Buck was the ninth child of Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson.  She was born on September 5, 1794 in Shenandoah County, Virginia and died October 21, 1871 in Paris, Tennessee at the age of 77.

Elizabeth Price Buck and George Neville Blakemore were married on October 27, 1814. George Neville Blakemore, son of George Blakemore and Elizabeth Mauzy, was born in 1791 and died in 1847 at the age of 56. George Neville Blakemore was one of the original justices (1836) of Warren County, Virginia and also a trustee of the Old School Happy Creek Church in Front Royal.

George Neville Blakemore and Elizabeth Price Buck had seven children:

• Mary Rebecca Blakemore, born 1817; married Gustavus A. Williams, 1841; died 1897.
• Ann Elizabeth Blakemore, born 1815; married Presley Neville Helm, 1836.
• Thomas Luther Blakemore, born 1819; married Elizabeth Richards, 1839; died 1901.
• George William Blakemore, born 1821; died 1880.
• Lucy Virginia Blakemore was born 1824, died in 1859.
• Martha Letitia Blakemore, born 1826; married John Buck Helm, 1842; died 1854.
• Robert Newton Blakemore was born 1833; died 1917.

The family home of Elizabeth Price Buck and George Neville Blakemore in Front Royal was called “Rose Hill”.  Thomas Buck, Elizabeth’s father, had purchased this land in 1820.  Rose Hill was sold to William Richardson in 1841.  George and Elizabeth Blakemore then moved Tennessee near their daughter, Ann, who had married Pressley Neville Helm.  George died in Tennessee in 1847.

In 1860, Elizabeth Price Buck Blakemore was age 67 and living with her son Thomas and his wife, also named Elizabeth, in St. Joseph, Missouri.  This dwelling place was a hotel and probably owned by Thomas although he is listed as “bookkeeper” in 1870.  A total of 34 people were living there.  Elizabeth Price Buck Blakemore was not living at this hotel in 1870.  She had moved to Clay Brook, Tennessee and was living with her grandson, James L. Blakemore, the son of Thomas.

Thomas Luther Buck had transitioned from farmer to clerk to a partner in the hotel business with a hotel at Capon Springs, Virginia (now West Virginia) called “The Mountain House”.   The Mountain House was a luxurious, four-story hotel completed in 1851 to take advantage of the medicinal spring in the area.  At the time, The Mountain House was believed to be one of the largest structures in the South. In addition to Thomas, the partnership included John R. Richards, William Mason Buck and his brother John Buck.  Capon Springs had a 900 seat dining room and was intended to entertain Congressmen and their families from Washington, D. C.  However, Capon Springs was a business failure.    In 1857, Thomas moved to St. Joseph, Missouri and again engaged in the hotel business.  According to the 1880 census, Thomas was a farmer in Missouri so perhaps he had left the hotel business by then.

Rebecca Richardson Buck (1792 – 1878)

Rebecca Richardson Buck was the eighth child of Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson.  She was born on Feb. 13, 1792 and died on Aug. 6, 1878 at the age of 86.  She was said to be "a woman of great amiability and charm” in the notes of H. N. Buck, 1965.

Rebecca Richardson Buck and William Richardson Ashby were married on Apr. 3, 1817.  William Richardson Ashby, son of Nathaniel Ashby and Margaret "Peggy" Mauzy, was born on Dec. 18, 1789. He died on May 21, 1843 at the age of 53 and was buried in Buckton Cemetary, Virginia.

William Richardson Ashby and Rebecca Richardson Buck had two children:

• Thomas Newton Ashby, born 1819; died 1878.
• Elizabeth Ann Ashby, born Sep. 25, 1820, Front Royal, Virginia; married William Mason Buck, Apr. 3, 1838, Front Royal, Virginia; died Jan. 24, 1904.

 William Mason Buck, nephew and son-in-law to Rebecca Richardson Buck, wrote his memoirs in 1880 which have been very helpful in documenting the history of families in those times.

Marcus Calmes Buck (1789 – 1845)

 

Marcus Calmes Buck was born on Nov. 7, 1789; he died on May 12, 1845 at the age of 55 and was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia. His tombstone reads: "Surgeon U. S. Army during the War of 1812. A native of Frederick Co., VA, who died 12 May 1845, aged 55 years. He was brave, noble, kind and gentle."

Marcus Calmes Buck graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1812 and was commissioned a Major in the Medical Corps. On July 2, 1813, he was assigned to the 20^th Infantry but was transferred to the 4^th Infantry on September 4, 1815. He was appointed Military Storekeeper at Washington on April 25, 1831. (from “Blakemore Family and Allied Lines” by Maurice Neville Blakemore)

“ Marcus Calmes Buck was Major-Surgeon, U. S. Army, War of 1812. He was appointed military storekeeper at Washington in 1831, in charge of all military supplies. The name "Buckboard" as applied to vehicles originated from his design of a springy platform resting directly on the wagon axles, for transporting military supplies over the rough roads of what was then the Southwest (Tennessee, Arkansas, etc., around 1835). This design replaced high wagon bodies on springs, which were top heavy and unsuited for the purpose.” ( notes of H. N. Buck, 1965)

Dr. Marcus Calmes Buck and Elizabeth P. Drake were married on Apr. 22, 1817. She was called "Betty". Elizabeth P. Drake was born on Jul. 22, 1799. She died on Jan. 13, 1875 at the age of 75 and was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia. Her tombstone is most unusual -- a tall, stone about ten feet high with a hand pointed to the Marcus C. Buck stone. It is inscribed: M. E. P. Buck, wife of. There are no dates on the stone.

Marcus Calmes Buck and Elizabeth P. Drake had no children.

Henrietta Chew Buck (1779-1872)

 

Henrietta Chew Buck, daughter of Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson, was born on May 16, 1779. She died on Dec. 23, 1872 at the age of 93 and was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia.

Henrietta Chew Buck and Spencer Neville Calmes were married on Apr. 27, 1797. Spencer Neville Calmes, son of William Waller Calmes and Lucy Neville, was born in 1771. He died in 1854 at the age of 83.

The Calmes and Buck families became linked in the 1700s and Calmes often appears as a middle or surname in Buck family history. Marquis Calmes I was a French Huguenot who came to America from England about 1695, his family having fled from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. It appears highly probable that he came from the old, influential, and titled Huguenot family of that name in southern France, but positive proof of such connection is lacking. References to him in several historical writings as being a titled French Marquis likewise lack documentary verification. There is no doubt; however, that he was the progenitor of a large, influential, and illustrious family in America.

Spencer Neville Calmes and Henrietta Chew Buck had fifteen children:

• Annie Buck Calmes, born 1798; married William M. Coleman, 1821; died 1867
• William Waller Calmes, born 1800; married Susan H. Sterling, 1825; died 1836
• Lucy Neville Calmes, born 1802; married Augustus Wight, 1821
• Franklin Calmes (1803 – 1833)
• Miriam Calmes (1804 - 1805
• Juliette Calmes (1806 – 1820)
• Henrietta Calmes, born 1808; married Moses Rawlings, 1829
• Eliza Calmes, born 1809; married George W. Campbell, 1832; died 1833
• Marquis Lafayette Calmes, born 1811; married Margaret Pilcher, 1851; died 1858
• Spencer Neville Calmes was born in 1813. He died in 1831 at the age of 18
• Letitia Amelia Calmes, born 1816; married James H. Bristow, 1845
• Isaac Newton Calmes (1817 – 1857)
• Charles Henry Calmes (1819 – 1901)
• Augustus G. S. Calmes, born 1822; married Matilda E. Cromwell, 1852; died 1898
• Albert B. Calmes (1826 – 1857).

Isabella Buck (1778 – 1844)

 

Not much is known about Isabella Buck. She was born on January 9, 1778 and died in 1844 at the age of 66.

Isabella Buck and Captain Hezekiah Conn were married on July 25, 1803. They settled in Hartford, Kentucky and are buried in Belfontaine Cemetery. Hezekiah Conn died in 1837.

Hezekiah Conn and Isabella Buck had six children:

• Maria Conn (1804 – 1859)
• Eliza Conn (1805 – 1899)
• Eleanor Conn (1807 – 1807)
• Rosalie Conn (1810 – 1810).
• Isabella Buck Conn (1813 – 1892)
• Sarah Cornelia Conn (1817 – ?).

William Richardson Buck

William Richardson Buck was the first of Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson’s children. He was born on Feb. 28, 1776 and died on Oct. 27, 1823 at the age of 47. The cause of death was “bilious fever” which appeared epidemic in that year. He was buried in Buckton Cemetery, Virginia.

William Richardson Buck married Lucy Neville Blakemore April 8, 1802 when he was 26 years old; she was 17. Lucy Neville Blakemore, daughter of George Blakemore and Elizabeth Mauzy, was born on May 5, 1784. She died on May 18, 1859 at the age of 75 and was buried in Buckton Cemetery, Virginia.

William Richardson Buck and Lucy Neville Blakemore had the following children:

• Marcus Blakemore Buck, born Nov. 25, 1816; married Jane Letitia Bayly, 1841; died Nov. 30, 1881.
• George Augustus Buck was born on Apr. 12, 1807. He died on Apr. 18, 1835 at the age of 28 in Virginia.
• George R. Buck is included in the notes of William R. Buck as being born April 12, 1807 but dying April 18, 1835. He was buried in Buckton Cemetery, Virginia.
• Thomas Fayette Buck Sr., born Mar. 28, 1803, Virginia; married Elizabeth Peake, Feb. 26, 1839; died Sep. 25, 1874.
• Catherine E. Buck, born 1805; married John B. LaRue, 1843; died Jun. 27, 1882.
• William Mason Buck, born Aug. 30, 1809, Front Royal, Virginia; married Elizabeth Ann Ashby, Apr. 3, 1838, Front Royal, Virginia; died Sep. 23, 1895, Front Royal, Virginia.
• Henry Alexander Buck was born on Nov. 15, 1811. The memoirs of William Mason Buck actually gives his birthday as 1800 but this is probably a typographical error. He died on May 27, 1834 at the age of 22 in Pecan Grove, Louisiana.
• John Newton Buck, born Jul. 25, 1820; married Amelia Ann Buck, Oct. 2, 1849; died Oct. 25, 1875.

William Richardson Buck’s son, William Mason Buck, was a notable contributor to the history of the Buck family through his memoirs.

Children of Thomas Buck V

 

As noted previously, Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson had fourteen children, of whom four died in infancy. It often seems as though Thomas’s family has been better documented than has the families of his brothers John and Charles Buck II. This additional documentation could be related to Thomas’s family living in the town of Front Royal whereas the families of John and Charles were more rural. However, the additional information is probably more due to the efforts of Buck family researchers and writers such as William Mason Buck, Maurice Neville Blakemore and Walter Hooper Buck who were descendants of Thomas Buck V.

The more noted and documented children of Thomas Buck V include:

· William Richardson Buck (1776 – 1823) married Lucy N. Blakemore

· Isabella Buck (1778 – 1844) married Captain Hezekiah Conn

· Henrietta Chew Buck (1779 – 1872) married Spencer Neville Calmes

· Mary Ann Buck (1787 – 1851) married George Bayly

· Marcus Calmes Buck (1789 – 1845) married Elizabeth P. Drake

· Rebecca Richardson Buck (1792 - 1878) married William R. Ashby

· Elizabeth Price Buck (1794 – 1871) married George N. Blakemore

· Isaac Newton Buck (1801 – 1877) married Janet Urquhart

· Letitia Amelia Buck (1803 – 1885) married John Mauzy Blakemore.

The next several posts will focus on these children of Thomas Buck V and Anne Richardson as well as some of their grandchildren.

Ruhama Heath McKim Buck

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As noted previously, Ruhama Heath was the second wife of Thomas Buck V. Most of the following information about Ruhama Buck is based on article about her granting freedom to her slaves, particularly the family of Maria Cooper. The article, “Freedom Without Independence: The Story of a Former Slave and Her Family” is by Ellen Eslinger, a professor of history at DePaul University, and was published in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography in 2006. Although the article is complimentary of Ruhama Buck, it is not so complimentary of the family of Thomas Buck V. Even so, the article appears to be well researched and presents information previously unknown to me.

In her article about the family of Maria Cooper, Ellen Eslinger gives the name of Ruhama as “Ruhanna” but other references that I've used (especially “The Blakemore Family and Allied Lines” by M. N. Blakemore and “The Buck Family Virginia” by W.P. Buck) spell her name as Ruhama. It is easy to see how “nn” could be taken as “m” or vice versa.

I've also recently received more background information from Carolyn Gutermuth who is a McKim descendant and has published a book of deeds for the McKim family. She spells the name as Ruhamah but I've decided to continue with “Ruhama” for now.

It is important to note that Thomas Buck was 67 years old and Ruhama Heath McKim was 47 when they married in 1823. Thomas' wife, Ann, had been dead for only a few months. No doubt his children were upset with his sudden marriage. Ruhama's husband, James, had been dead for 3 years and her only child, William, had been dead for one year. Thomas would live another 19 years; Ruhama another 28 years.

Upon the death of her son, Ruhama had inherited his estate – presumably left to him by his father, James McKim.

Thomas Buck soon recorded a deed of gift to Ruhama of the slave Maria Cooper and her three children. These slaves are assumed to have belonged to Ruhama prior to her marriage to Thomas. Upon his death, Thomas confirmed and extended this gift to Ruhama in his will.

Ruhama apparently had taken Maria Cooper and her family under her wing and tutelage some years previously. She had educated Maria well – much more than simple reading and writing. In turn, Maria and her family cared for Ruhama in her old age. Theirs must have been a special bond as Maria named one of her children Ruhama and another McKim.

According to the census of 1850, Ruhama Buck had thirteen slaves. Just prior to her death in 1851, she freed those slaves, including Maria Cooper and her family. Because Virginia law required that manumitted slaves must leave the state within a year, Ruhama Buck's will provided a wagon with horses and eight hundred dollars for their relocation. Fitted with the wagon and horses but without all the money, Maria Cooper and her family left the Buck plantation in the fall of 1852 and settled in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Ellen Eslinger was able to study a number of letters written by Maria Cooper. At first Maria and her family were doing well in Washington; however, her letters continually asked for the remainder of the money, apparently five hundred dollars, left to her by Ruhama. Most of these letters were to the executors of Thomas Buck's will, William Buck and Thomas Ashby. In 1855, Thomas Ashby visited Maria Cooper and her attorney David Wilson – presumably to close the account; however Ashby decided not to close it. Instead, he transferred fifty dollars to Maria. Eventually the account must have been closed because in 1859 Maria Cooper was able to purchase the house she wanted.

After his marriage to Ruhama, Thomas Buck began to have conflicts with the various movements within the Baptist Church but these conflicts are not attributed to Ruhama.

Ruhama Buck died on November 29, 1851. She was buried in Buckton Cemetary, but the name on her tombstone is given only as “Mrs. R. M. Buck”. Her grave is not particularly close to the grave of her husband, Thomas Buck.

Thomas Buck V and Ruhama Heath

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Thomas BUCK V and Ruhama Heath were married in 1823 – only a few months after the death of Thomas's wife, Ann Richardson. Ruhama was previously married to James McKim in 1800; most records show her as Ruhama McKim. Ruhama Heath was born in 1773 in Virginia. Judging from notes and letters in the University of Virginia microfilm, their marriage was not generally approved by his family. (More on this topic later.)

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Thomas Buck and Ruhama Heath had no children.

(Edited to correct the marriage date of Thomas Buck and Ruhama Heath.)

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Bel Air: Home of Thomas Buck V

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In the late 1790’s, Thomas Buck V moved from his father's estate to Front Royal, Warren County, Virginia, where he built his home, "Bel Air", on 100 acres of tillable land he purchased from Alan Wiley in 1798. Thomas Buck also owned 1,500 acres of woodland adjacent to Happy Creek. Bel Air still exists today although greatly revised and no longer owned by the Buck family. In fact, Bel Air is now owned by Larry LeHew whose ancestor, Peter LeHew, had sold the land to Alan Wiley.

In 1930, William R. Buck, great-grandson of Thomas Buck V, wrote that the name “Bel Air” was the name of a town near Baltimore, Maryland. The family of Anne Richardson, Thomas Buck’s first wife, lived nearby. According to W. R. Buck, the brick portions of Bel Air were built about 1795 whereas the wings had been built previously of hewn logs. Thomas Buck lived in the wings while the main portion was being built. He noted that an attic room wall and sloped ceiling was a sort of “guest register” that contained many signatures.

A letter written on January 27, 1918 by Williarm R. Buck’s sister, Lucy Rebecca Buck, notes that, "... The two wings were erected several years before the main brick one was made and I have heard our old aunt Calmes, who died in her ninety‑second year, say that as a little girl she had played in the space between the wings. The brass knocker on the front door, one of my earliest recollections of the house,bears the inscription, "Thomas Buck, 1800". Her brother, Irving Ashby Buck, was forced to sell Bel Air. The new owner completely remodeled it and Lucy had some rather uncomplimentary things about the remodelled house and its owner. Lucy was born in Bel Air and some say her ghost now haunts it.
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Thomas Buck in Front Royal

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Sometimes it seems that Thomas Buck V was a “city feller” – especially as compared to his brothers John and Charles. He was one of the original trustees of the town of Front Royal as it was laid out in 1788 and one of its leading citizens for many years. He donated land in Front Royal for a church. His home, Bel Air, still exists in Front Royal (more on Bel Air later).

Thomas Buck V was High Sheriff of Frederick County three times and was a special delegate to the Legislature.
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Thomas Buck V (1756 – 1842)

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Thomas Buck V, the third and youngest son of Charles Buck I, was born on June 10, 1756; his mother was Letitia Sorrell Buck. Thomas was full brother to Charles Buck II and half brother of John Buck. He was born in Frederick County, Virginia and lived all his life in Virginia. At a young age he moved across the river from the family farm in Buckton to Front Royal where he lived most of his life. His home in Front Royal, Bel Air, still exists although extensively remodeled and no longer owned by a member of the Buck family.

Thomas Buck V was a member of the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War and received a pension for his service. He was a strong civic, business and Baptist leader. He became wealthy and his descendants were prominent in the area for many years.

Like his brothers John and Charles, Thomas married one of the Richardson sisters. Both Thomas and Anne were only eighteen when they married in 1774. With three Buck brothers having married three Richardson sisters, it’s no wonder that there was said to be a certain “look “ to the thirty-two grandchildren of Charles Buck I !

As will be seen from the next series of postings, much more is known of Thomas Buck V than of his father or brothers.
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