My seven-times great grandfather was Richard Stephenson,one of the earliest settlers of the area that would become known as West Virginia. In the 1700s, the rugged area was part of the Virginia Colony and was largely unpopulated. Even the Native Americans used it as a hunting ground and didn't live there. The young George Washington, at that time a teenager, surveyed the area for Lord Fairfax and set up many properties for incoming people to inhabit.
Richard Stephenson was one of these settlers. He was a friend of Washington and shared his zeal for acquiring new land in the mountainous areas. In 1750, Stephenson bought the land that became Bullskin Farm, so called because the south fork of the Bullskin Run (Creek) meandered through the property. He built a house and two outbuildings and moved his wife, Honora (Grimes) Crawford Stephenson, and his children, including four sons and two stepsons, to the property.
Stephenson also developed the Bullskin Presbyterian Church on a ridge near the western end of the farm, close to the headspring of the Bullskin Run. As the colony prepared for War with Britain, Stephenson's sons and stepsons all volunteered for service. His son Hugh was one of only two officers to assemble a company of soldiers from the colony and march them north to support the new General Washington and participate in Lord Dunmore's War.
Today, Bullskin Farm is still a working farm and is known as Burns Farm. It is located just southwest of Charles Town, West Virginia. The new house is built upon the foundations of the old Stephenson homestead, and two outbuildings dating from Stephenson's day, still stand.
Where is Richard Stephenson buried? Findagrave states that he, his wife, her first husband, and Col. Hugh Stephenson are buried at Bullskin Presbyterian Churchyard. Several volunteers have come forward to try to find the graves. I'm hoping that they will turn up. Below are photos of the Burns Farm.
Richard Stephenson was one of these settlers. He was a friend of Washington and shared his zeal for acquiring new land in the mountainous areas. In 1750, Stephenson bought the land that became Bullskin Farm, so called because the south fork of the Bullskin Run (Creek) meandered through the property. He built a house and two outbuildings and moved his wife, Honora (Grimes) Crawford Stephenson, and his children, including four sons and two stepsons, to the property.
Stephenson also developed the Bullskin Presbyterian Church on a ridge near the western end of the farm, close to the headspring of the Bullskin Run. As the colony prepared for War with Britain, Stephenson's sons and stepsons all volunteered for service. His son Hugh was one of only two officers to assemble a company of soldiers from the colony and march them north to support the new General Washington and participate in Lord Dunmore's War.
Today, Bullskin Farm is still a working farm and is known as Burns Farm. It is located just southwest of Charles Town, West Virginia. The new house is built upon the foundations of the old Stephenson homestead, and two outbuildings dating from Stephenson's day, still stand.
Where is Richard Stephenson buried? Findagrave states that he, his wife, her first husband, and Col. Hugh Stephenson are buried at Bullskin Presbyterian Churchyard. Several volunteers have come forward to try to find the graves. I'm hoping that they will turn up. Below are photos of the Burns Farm.
