March 19, 2018 / Joanne Yeck

Buckingham County Obituaries, Part I

In the 19^th century, news of Buckingham County reached regional and city newspapers via correspondence. As a result, obituaries might be bundled, sometimes without specific dates. Such was the case in the autumn of 1837. Following an unusually lengthy obituary for the esteemed Archibald Austin, Esq., Richmond’s Enquirer printed several obituaries from Buckingham County. Given the loss of Buckingham County death records prior to 1869, these obituaries are particularly valuable.

Click here to read the obituary for Archibald Austin, Esq.

Austin’s obituary was followed by a notice concerning Thomas May, in which we also learn about the death of his wife:

— Also, Thomas May, proprietor of the Manor at our Court-house—an honest, worthy man, of kind and social feelings, his lady having deceased about three years before him. He has left an amiable family of sons and daughters to mourn their great bereavement.

Thomas May was remembered by the Town of Maysville (a. k. a. Buckingham Court House), which was established in 1818. May’s death notice was followed by one for William Lewis:

—Also, William Lewis, an honest man by nature and practice—pure amongst the purest; eminently gifted with virtuous, kind and social feelings and his family, to his neighbors and toward all mankind. He has left an amiable wife and several daughters to mourn their irreparable loss.

This notice was of particular interest to me, as William Lewis was briefly father-in-law to my ancestor John M. Harris. Lewis died in September of 1837 at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia. Presumably, he had gone in hopes of restoring his health. His wife, Ann “Nancy” (Tindall), survived only until May 27, 1838. Their daughter, Mary Tindall Lewis, who had cared for both parents, married my widowed ancestor in Buckingham County on October 5, 1842. A shock to all, Mary was dead by June 10, 1843.

Coming next: Buckingham County Obituaries, Part II