Isaac Nichols, a certificate on 9th Mo., 1743, for wife and Herman Cox from Kennet and a grant for 560 acres on March 25th, 1743.
Jacob Janney received a certificate from the Falls Meeting of 8th Mo., the 5th, 1743, and a grant of 690 acres on June 20th, 1743. Jacob married in 1742, if he came to Virginia in 1745 as historians claim, where was he from the date of his grant in 1744 and the date of his certificate, 1743?
Some of the grants were quite large: Ames Janney—2,345 acres, John Mead 1,289 acres, Gidney Clark 3,000 acres. Four Janney families got 4,843 acres, and more too, which was possible as Amos was a surveyor for Fairfax and knew where all the “waste and ungranted lands” were.
Hannah Janney, the wife of Jacob, must have been a very strong character as shown by a memorial in the minutes of Goose Creek Meeting of 1818, the year of her death at the age of 93. It is stated that soon after their establishment in their new home she went regularly twice a week to a log in the forest where she set up an altar to her God by spending some time in silent devotion.
As early as 1746 Fairfax Quarter granted to Friends settled on the banks or tributaries of Goose Creek, which also included South Fork, at Union (now Unison), the priviledge of holding a meeting for worship on the third day of each month at the residence of the members. About 1750, or 51, a regular meeting was established at Goose Creek. The first meeting house was built of logs and was said to have been built on the site where Hannah held her devotions.
A traveling minister wrote in his autobiography: “On seventh day we went to their monthly meeting at Fairfax, 8 miles from Leesburg, which was large and solemn—On second day was at Goose Creek, 8 miles ye Meeting house small yet did not hold half ye pepal which was a great disc-advantage yet came away pretty Ese.”
That the French and Indian War did not overly affect Loudoun County is well known. However, the people well knew the hardship endured by the Friends in the Valley, as this bit from the “Autobiography of William Reckitt,” who was a visitor in our county in 1757 shows. “Crossing Potomac we came into Virginia to Fairfax; where we had a meeting on the second day of the week and 12th of the 12th month. It was a good meeting, truth having the dominion—We lodged at Mary Janney’s, a discrete orderly woman, who had several sober, well inclined children. From hence we went to Goose Creek and had a meeting on third day; it was well. On 4th day we had a meeting at David Pole’s several Friends accompanying us. I had a travail in spirit—We left David Pole’s house on 5th day and rode over the Blue Ridge or Blue Mountains, where the Indians had done much mishief, by burning houses, killing, destroying, and carrying many people away as captives; but Friends had not hitherto been hurt: yet several had left their plantations and fled back again over the Blue Mountains, where the lands had been rightly purchased of the Indians.”
Daniel Staunton in “Life, Travels and Gospel” reports that in December of 1760, “We went forward crossing the Patowmac into Virginia: the next Meetings were Fairfax, Goose Creek, Potts’, or the Gap, some of which were largely favored with solid comfort and satisfaction, there appearing many dear Friends with whom I had unity in Spirit: from the last place we traveled till we got over Shanandore river, and lodged at John Vestal’s.”
The Potts’ or Gap Meeting to which Staunton alludes, was held at Hillsboro and was a meeting held under Fairfax. It was a constant source of disputation and trouble to its Monthly Meeting, delegations often being sent to try to straighten things out with the Potts and Janneys of that section, but to no avail; for instance, Fairfax minutes report in 1761—“As Friends of Goose Creek and Friends of the Gap have not attended business meetings—this meeting appoints Mary Janney, Rachel Hollingsworth and Sara Janney to visit (them) to excite them to more diligence.” In 1765 “—if any disorder appear this meeting appoints David Potts to supervise.” Still in 1765 “—this meeting takes no note of the great deficiencies of the Gap Friends in several particulars—” Meetings were held in the home of David Williams until finally the Gap Meeting came through with a meeting house, as this minute from Goose Creek testifies: “Friends of the Gap reporting that they have built a house for the conveniency of holding their meetings in, and got it now nearly ready, this meeting concurs with their proposal in 1770 of holding it therein accordingly.” The land was two acres conveyed by Mahlon Hough to Stephen Gray, Isaac Nichols, Jr., Thomas Smith and William Hough, “to permit Such People Called Quakers to erect a Meeting House, Schools, Yard and Place of Burial.” In 1804 it is noted that the Gap Meeting is small and in 1805 it is laid down. Sic transit mundi.
South Fork Meeting was another meeting which did not long survive, despite the observation of the traveling minister John Comly in 1829 that it was strong and healthy. Yardley Taylor states that the meeting was active in 1853. A later minister reported that all they thought about was cock fighting and horse raceing. South Fork’s “worldiness” caused “concern” for its members “drank to excess,” “fought, gambled”, “took to horse raceing,” and “were lax morally.” This meeting was laid down shortly after the Civil War, and the administration of its graveyard on a small budget has been a head ache to Goose Creek Meeting ever since.