A Trip to West Virginia to Search for Phyllis's Ancestors

It has been three months since I wrote about the missing graves of my ancestors Richard and Honora Stephenson and one of their sons, Col. Hugh Stephenson. They are said to be buried at the Bullskin Presbyterian Churchyard, 100 yards north of the Bullskin head springs. To honor my mother, Phyllis Stephenson, and our ancestors, I am flying off to the DC area tomorrow with a compass and my measured pace to see what, if anything, I can turn up about their whereabouts.

Survey of R. Stephenson's property
by George Washington, 1750

If you've been following along, you know that Richard Stephenson acquired property on the Bullskin Run and had it surveyed by George Washington in 1750. That survey still exists, in the collection of the Boston Public Library (pictured below). The text reads: "Pursuant to a warrant from the appropriation office to Me directed, I have surveyed for Mr. Richard Stephenson a certain tract of waste and ungranted land situate in Frederick County between the North and South branches of Bullskin bounded as followeth: Beginning at two hickory saplings near a broken sopward I am Come to his patent land and turn thence S 07 east sbo paces for a small while  oak a corner of a former survey of his in Col. Fairfax's line thence with his line S 212~ paces to Col. Fairfax. The course continued and in all 326 paces to a white oak in a hazel bottom thence N or N_ 290 paces to a locust stand, in Grub's patent line thence with his line N 5 E to a dead hie of patent C and two red oaks hence with another line of this and patent S a r E 140 paces to me beg[inning]. Containing three hundred and sixteen acres this 9th of November, 1750. George Washington

cc: Robert Worthington, Henry Bradshaw, Lewis Thomas _____________

This may seem like a doomed endeavor, particularly as I know nothing about surveying, measuring land and mapreading. Complicating things even further, I will be looking for the headsprings of the Bullskin Run in order to locate the site of the churchyard, and I've found at least four headsprings! On the north branch of the Bullskin, there is a Head Spring Sheep Farm and also a spring house at White House Farm (Tavern). On the south branch, there is the Cool Spring Nature Preserve. There is also a head springs on the map on the property of the Summit Point Motorsports track!

Even though finding results is doubtful, I intend to have an adventure! Downgrade from all these headsprings is Burns Farm itself, my ancestral homeland, with several outbuildings built by Richard Stephenson himself, including the small barn at right.