The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia

by S. J. Quinn

There also lie interred in the burial ground of St. George’s church, with an unpretentious stone marking the place, the remains of William Paul, a merchant of the town and a native of Scotland, who died here in 1773. In 1770 he purchased from Thomas and Jane Blanton, “for one hundred and twenty pounds, an acre or one-half of the lot or land lying and being in the town of Fredericksburg, and designated in the plot of said town by the number or figures 258, the same being one-half, or south end of said lot, and purchased by the said Thomas Blanton of Roger Dixon, Gent, and bound on the main street, called Caroline street, and the cross street, called Prussia, together with all houses, buildings, gardens, ways, profits, hereditaments and appurtenances whatever.” This lot is designated on the map of the town to-day as 258, and the house in which Wm. Paul conducted his mercantile business is the one occupied and owned at present by Matthew J. Gately.

Notwithstanding his biographers to the contrary, Wm. Paul made a will in 1772, in which he appointed his friends, Wm. Templeman and Isaac Heslop, his executors, which was witnessed by John Atkinson, Thomas Holmes and B. Johnston. The executors declined to serve and the estate remained until late in the next year without any one being legally authorized to take charge of it. In November, 1774, John Atkinson qualified, it is supposed at the instance of John Paul, who had arrived here to wind up the estate, with John Waller, Jr., as surety, who was afterwards released and Charles Yates became his surety.

This Wm. Paul was the brother of John Paul, who afterwards became the famous John Paul Jones. It has been asserted that Wm. Paul changed his name to Jones to inherit a plantation from Wm. Jones, either in Virginia or North Carolina. But this is shown to be a mistake from the fact that Wm. Paul, in 1770, bought property here as Wm. Paul, made his will in 1772 and signed it Wm. Paul, and died in 1773 and his tomb stone now bears on it the name of Wm. Paul. It was further asserted that in the agreement by which the plantation was to become the property of Wm. Paul, if Wm. Paul died without issue, the property was to go to John Paul on the condition that he would add Jones to his name, and that William did die without issue and the estate of William went to John. This is also a mistake. William did not die intestate, but made a will and gave his entire estate to his sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children.

One clause of the will reads as follows: “It is my will and desire that my lots and houses in this town shall be sold and converted into money for as much as they will bring, that with all my other estate being sold, and what of my outstanding debts that can be collected, I give and bequeath to my beloved sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children in Abigland, in the parish of Kirkbean, in Stewarty of Galloway, North Briton, and their heirs forever.” It is not believed that Wm. Paul owned any property out of town from the fact that the bond of his administrator was only five hundred pounds, which was generally double the amount of the estate. His estate in town consisted of his houses and lots, his merchandise and accounts due him, which must have been worth twelve or fifteen hundred dollars. Therefore the bond of $2,500 was sufficient only for his possessions in town, and no other is alluded to or mentioned in his will. It has been held that he owned property in the county of Spotsylvania, but that arises from the fact there were others by the name of Paul in the county who had property. But this William Paul is traced by the reference in his will to the parish of Kirkbean, Galloway, where his sister, Mary Young, and brother John lived.

Why John Paul changed his name to Jones was probably known only to himself. Many writers have undertaken to explain it, but without success, and the mystery is yet unsolved. In 1775 John Paul Jones’s name heads a list of naval lieutenants, and, because of his meritorious services, he was soon appointed a captain, and finally rose to the rank of commodore. His daring exploits and unequal, but successful, contests soon won for him the thanks of the American Congress, as well as the gratitude of the American people, while it carried terror and dismay to the enemies of his country. He greatly humiliated England by landing his fleet on her shores during the Revolutionary war, a thing that had not been done before for centuries, if ever, since it was a nation.

At the close of the war, in which he had covered himself with glory, he was offered an important command by the Empress of Russia against the Turks in the Black sea, which he accepted with the stipulation “that he was never to renounce the title of an American citizen.” He died in Paris in 1792, and was buried in that city, aged forty-five years. General Washington, then President of the United States, had just commissioned him for an important duty, but he died before the commission reached him. As the many years rolled on, rounding up a century, his body laid in an unknown grave, notwithstanding many efforts were made to locate it. In 1900 a body was found believed to be his, and there was great rejoicing in this country over the announcement, but, when carefully examined, it was found to be the remains of another and not those of the great American commodore. But this did not discourage those who had the matter in hand, and the search continued under the direction of Gen. Horace Porter, the American Ambassador to the Court of France, under great difficulties. On the 7th of April, 1905, the body was found in a cemetery known as Saint Louis, which was laid out in 1720 for a burial place for Protestants, but which had been closed more than half a century, and buildings were constructed upon it at the time of the discovery of the body. The remains were declared to be those of John Paul Jones, after every test had been applied that could be, and they were accepted by our government as those of the great naval hero. Some time was spent in preparing to remove the remains to this country, but early in 1906 they were placed upon a United States man of war, escorted by vessels from England and France, and were landed at Annapolis, where they were reinterred in the presence of thousands of people from all parts of the country, with booming of cannon and every honor a grateful people could bestow upon him.

GEN. LEWIS LITTLEPAGE.

Gen. Lewis Littlepage, who died and was buried here in the burying ground of Masonic Lodge No. 4, was born in Hanover county, Virginia, and was one of the most brilliant men the State ever produced. His career was short, but in that short life he greatly distinguished himself as a scholar, soldier and diplomat. He was the protege of John Jay at the Court of France in 1782, was wounded at the siege of Gibraltar, was a member of the cabinet of the king of Poland, and the King’s chamberlain, with the rank of major-general; negotiated a treaty with the Empress of Russia, was a secret and special envoy to the Court of France to form the Grand Quadruple Alliance; was with Prince Potempkin in his march through Tartary des Negais; commanded a flotilla under Prince Nassau at his victory over the fleet of Turkey; was sent on an important mission to Madrid, in which he was successful; resisted the Russian invaders of Poland as aide-de-camp to the King; signed the Confederation of Fargowitz; envoy to St. Petersburg to prevent the division of Poland, but was stopped by the Russian government; was with Kosciusko in his attempt to free Poland; was at the storming of Prague, and was with King Stanislaus when he was captured by the Russians.

At the death of Stanislaus, Gen. Littlepage, becoming sick of European politics and broils, and, with his health shattered and gone, returned to America, settled in Fredericksburg and died before he had reached the age of forty years. His grave, in the western corner of the Masonic cemetery, is marked by a marble slab, which has on it this inscription:

“Here lies the body of Lewis Littlepage, who was born in the county of Hanover, in the State of Virginia, on the 19th day of December, 1762, and departed this life in Fredericksburg, on the 19th of July, 1802, aged 39 years and 7 months. Honored for many years with the esteem and confidence of the unfortunate Stanislaus Augustus, King of Poland, he held under that monarch, until he lost his throne, the most distinguished offices, among which was that of Ambassador to Russia. He was by him created the Knight of St. Stanislaus, chamberlain and confidential secretary in his cabinet, and acted as his special envoy in the most important occasions of talents, of military as well as civil, he served with credit as an officer of high rank in different arms. In private life he was charitable, generous and just, and in the various public offices which he filled he acted with uniform magnanimity, fidelity and honor.”