Where is gwynns island va

Artifacts, tools, and pottery found on the island suggest that humans lived here as early as 10, B. Virginia In Your Inbox spinner. Thank you! You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Love Virginia? Around ca , Hugh Gwynn was exploring the Chesapeake Bay and stopped at a small island at the mouth of the Piankatank River. Legend has it that he heard cries for help from an Indian girl who had fallen from her canoe. Seeing her in the water, he dived in and pulled her to safety.

About 5 years later in , Hugh Gwynn's request was granted by patent acres, nearly a quarter of the Island. It is uncertain the gap in time from discovery of the Island in and but we do know that Hugh represented Charles River County in the House of Burgesses in Hugh finally served as a Burgess for Gloucester County in , indicating that he was either an Island resident or lived nearby until his believed death around The Welsh influence on the Island is indicated not only by Gwynn, but also the surname Edwards.

Referencing the bird's eye view of the Island above, Edwards Creek is named after the Edwards Family who has resided on the island since the 17th century. Milford Haven, a body of water between the Island and the mainland, was named after an old fishing town on the southwest coast of Wales. Early settlers did a little farming on the Island. He has a bowler hat. They are not just getting by.

They have become middle-class or upper-middle-class Black citizens. In the census, all four of their children are enrolled in school. The land is owned free and clear. This was something that they signed. It proves they were literate. A lot of them did read and write. And then I found other marriage bonds and marriage licenses of their children, their grandchildren, and things like that. By , James and Ida have some of their kids married off, and they have children also living nearby.

William and Dolly are great-grandparents. They were really thriving. They were earning. They were providing for their families. But times started to change, and you see more things coming in Jim Crow style.

In , a Confederate memorial was erected. Did someone say something about a woman? Was it a domestic situation? And then I went to the Mathews County library and started asking questions.

I was surprised it was such a big deal. It started out on Christmas Eve of and went into the next year. James Smith was my great-grandfather. You look at the accounts. I think probably because it is such a shameful episode. So, the story evolves over time. Some say Black residents left for better jobs. Other people say the Black residents left by choice, one by one, but we found they left as a group or all at once.

We found deeds and phone directories that document this. He gets into a tussle with people, cuts somebody, and then he runs down the street and is saved by a storekeeper named Herbert F.

Dixon, reflecting the stories he was told by old-timers, describes Smith as a troublemaker, a drunk, and that he just out of nowhere started a fight, even though they were living amicably at the time. The newspaper mentions how cold it was. It was extremely cold, but even with that, the courtroom was packed. There was just an overwhelming number of people there. It covers this in a way it does not cover other trials.

There is a lot of space in the paper about Jim Smith having maliciously wounded this person and then being convicted of it. I went back to the courthouse and was able to find the actual Special Grand Jury summary, and the pleading and all of that is in there. He has an attorney. He does not plead guilty, which would have been the easy way out. He could have said he was guilty, was drunk, and had messed up.

Instead, he insists on a trial. It was an all-white, all-male jury. It was people from mainland Mathews County, who might not have known Smith or his family. The fine was substantial, but it was payable. His father raises that money within six weeks of the trial. You can see detailed handwritten documents. But there is no testimony. There are no depositions. We kept digging. It is kind of battered and everything was folded in thirds. It became quite a fight.

We do find the names of the complainants. They were both young fishermen, single. The witnesses are ages 15— There are three witnesses who are middle-aged married watermen.

We also find who were the witnesses for James Smith. Also testifying for Smith were two Black men and his wife. Smith has a lawyer. He calls witnesses. His wife testifies. In his instructions to the jury, the judge says that if the jury believes Smith used no more force than necessary, then they must find him not guilty.