Buckingham Post Offices
Curdsville Post Office (2011)
Photo by Joanne Yeck
In 1856, there were fifteen post offices in Buckingham County. The postmasters included my ancestor, Charles S. Saunders. Note all the post offices were operated by postmasters; this will not be the case as the century progresses and, eventually, Buckingham will have their share of able postmistresses. That year, however, this was the list:
Austin: Charles R. Shepherd
Buckingham Court House: Robert Shaw
Buckingham Mine: William E. Saunders
Chambers’ Mill: Charles S. Saunders
Curdsville: Albert Baldwin
Diana Mills: John J. Newton
Gary’s Store: Richard S. Grey
Glenmore: John C. Fitz
Gold Hill: William C. Word
Gravel Hill: Beverly A. Brown
Mount Vinco: Samuel M. Spencer
New Canton: Jefferson S. Robertson
New Store: Charles D. McKinney
Staunton’s Precinct: John R. Spencer
Virginia Mills: John S. Nicholas
Does anyone know of a family connection between Charles S. Saunders and William E. Saunders?
Charles D. McKinney, postmaster at New Store, was the brother of the future Governor of Virginia, Philip Watkins McKinney (1832-1899)?
slate river ramblings . . . . 
Hi Joanne,
Great article. For the record, it’s Mount Vinco, not Mount Vince.
Margaret
Margaret, Thanks. This has been corrected in the permanent blog post. More post offices to come! Joanne
Dear Reader:
I failed to read this post by the scholarly Ms. Burnett and now make this correction to the above post concerning Gov. McKinney. It appears that the Charles McKinney in my post is the father of Postmaster McKinney and Governor McKinney.
Sorry if I caused confusion.
Harry Stuart Holman
Harry, Thanks for all the details of the McKinney family and their kin! For all we know at this point, there could have been two generations of postmasters in the household! Joanne
Dear Reader:
This postmaster at New Store was the father of Gov. Phillip McKinney, who defeated U. S. Senator Billy Mahone in 1885 by a landslide victory. Gov. McKinney had a law practice in Farmville and was the law partner with Judge Francis Irving–father of Dr. Paulus Irving of “The Deanery,” Cartersville, Virginia.
Mr. Charles McKinney–the Governor’s father–was born in Charlotte County in 1789–only child of Charles and Susannah Watkins McKinney. She was the daughter of Capt. Joel Watkins of Prince Edward, and through him McKinney was well-connected to many notables. Joel’s uncle was Edward Watkins of Cumberland County–step-father of Judge Edmund Pendleton of Caroline–Chairman of the Virginia Conventions of 1775, etc. Also, through their uncle Edward Watkins of Cumberland County, Joel Watkins was a first cousin to the notable Rev. John Clay of Kentucky–father of the famous U. S. Senator Henry Clay–the “Great Compromiser.” Joel Watkins had another uncle named Benjamin Watkins who married a Cary, and they were the parents of Mrs. (Rev.) William Leigh. Their child was U. S. Senator Benjamin Watkins Leigh–U. S. Senator from VIrginia in the days of Andrew Jackson. He was an expert in the field of law and prepared the Code of Virginia in the year 1819. Joel Watkins aunt was Elizabeth Watkins Woodson Daniel of Cumberland County. Her son–Joel Watkins first cousin–was Judge William Daniel of Lynchburg–Judge of the General Court of Virginia (presently styled The Supreme Court of Virginia). His grandson was the notable U. S. Senator John Warwick Daniel of Lynchburg. He succeeded Billy Mahone in the U. S. Senate in 1885–the year his cousin McKinney defeated Mahone in the Virginia gubernatorial election.
In the 1850 census (on Ancestry), there is a Charles D. McKinney [line 4], age 21, merchant, and right below him [line3] is Phillip W. McKinney, age 18. On line 2 is a Charles McKinney, age 61. Appears that Charles D. is a brother to the future governor. (Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 2, Buckingham, Virginia; Roll: M432_937; Page: 385A; Image: 427.). The 1860 census (Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: District 1, Buckingham, Virginia; Roll: M653_1337; Page: 885; Image: 431; Family History Library Film: 805337.) lists Charles D. with his father. Interesting that the father, also a Charles, does not include a D. for the middle initial on either census. The father died in 26 Aug. 1862 (Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Virginia, Deaths and Burials Index, 1853-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Original data: “Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853–1912.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.)
Miranda, Thanks for looking this up!