Buckingham Springs
Buckingham Springs (Courtesy Historic Buckingham)
In the 19th century, “going to the springs” was an integral part of the life of Virginia planters. Virginians went to socialize. They went to heal what ailed them. Many of them journeyed west, to the mountains, escaping the summer heat. Images of lavish resorts in Bath County or Greenbrier County’s White Sulphur Springs come to mind. There was a time, however, when Buckingham County had a White Sulphur Springs of its own and the local gentry visited regularly, seeking the same rest, repair, and society of the larger resorts.
For the rest of the story . . . pick up this month’s issue of the Buckingham Beacon to read my current article: “Going to the Springs in Buckingham County.”
If that’s not convenient, you can access a PDF of the article here:
slate river ramblings . . . . 
Dear Reader,
I have made an error concerning the family of Benjamin Hooper. He married Elizabeth Morris, daughter of Nathaniel (not Samuel) Morris. She died about 1829–the year Benjamin Hooper married Permelia Moseley. Elizabeth was the sister of Samuel Morris who had daughters Elizabeth and Sarah, plus others, including a brother who owned the White Sulphur Springs Hotel near Curdsville. Sarah Morris married Christopher Hooper Whitworth of Greene Co., Alabama, nephew of Benjamin Hooper. Whitworth died young leaving only one child to grow to maturity. She was Elizabeth Ann Whitworth Gills (d. 1911) of Farmville, mother of Dr. William Gills of Farmville. He was a third cousin to my father, William Powell Holman, (1903-1978). On May 19, 2018, Dr. Gills great-grandson, Dr. Justin A. Watkins, married my daughter Mary Stuart Holman at “Winterham,” Amelia County, Virginia.
Harry, Many thanks for expanding on the Hooper family. Corrections are always welcome! Joanne
Mary “Polly” Moris, another daughter of Nathaniel Morris, married Edward Saunders. They lived in Buckingham County and six children. Another daughter of Nathaniel Morris – probably Nancy Morris – appears to have married James Saunders. Most of their children left VA for KY amd TN – except Goodrich Saunders who remained in Buckingham. Several Saunders/Sanders lived along the Willis River near the Morrises. I have found no record of Elizabeth “Betsy” Morris who married Benjamin Hooper having the middle name Saunders, but I am aware of an undocumented genealogy of Nathaniel Morris that refers to her as Elizabeth Saunders Morris. Having been unsuccessful in finding records to support any of their “facts” I can only conclude they were speculative.
Steve, I would love to solve my Saunders mystery. I descend from Charles S. Saunders a New Canton tailor who marries Elizabeth Holman Chambers in 1847. I can’t connect Saunders to his parents.
I do not have anything on Elizabeth Saunders Morris. I have never ran across the name “Saunders”
Elizabeth Morris who married Benjamin Hooper was the daughter of Nathaniel Morris and Nancy Jeffries. Elizabeth Anne
Morris the daughter of Samuel Morris and Anne Bradley Moore married Peter Stratton Booker, son of Bernard Gaines
Booker owner of the Booker gold mine in Buckingham County. Elizabeth Anne Morris was the sister of John Goodrich
Morris who was my GG grandfather.
Richard, Thanks for posting your line.
Dear Reader,
This is an interesting account of the Morris family in Buckingham. I shall very much like to be in touch with any member of this family who knows something of the life of Elizabeth Saunders Morris who married Capt. Benjamin Hooper, son of Col. George Hooper. She was the daughter of Samuel Morris and married Benjamin Hooper about the year 1820, Their son was James Hooper who owned the hotel for several years at Buckingham Court House. Their daughter was Mary Jane Hocker of Texas–ancestor of General Styron–whose grandson is Mr. Styron of Virginia. His son is the young Dr. Styron of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Elizabeth Morris Hooper died about 1829–leaving about five children. Benjamin Hooper married as a second wife Permelia Moseley, daughter of Spotsford Lewis and Mary Marshall Moseley of Buckingham County. Spotsford L. Moseley was the father of Judge Alexander Moseley of Gravel Hill. Spotsford L. Moseley married as his second wife Irene Moseley, widow of Charles Moseley and mother of Dr. Charles Moseley of “Marshall Place,” Buckingham County.
Harry Stuart Holman
Thank you, Harry. I, for one, would like to know more about James Hooper’s hotel at Buckingham Court House.