Santallaine and the Joyous Homecoming 22nd Set out after breakfast verry cold proceeded on to Mr. William Lewis New Salem & stayed all night, his children have the Hooping cough. Tied a string around my childs nake to prevent his taking it very cold made 15 miles. Clark is clear that the temperature was very cold. In the 40-word entry for the day, he comments twice on the temperature but the road was certainly an improvement from the section through the Kentucky Wilderness and over Cumberland and Clinch Mountains he had already traveled. In 1805, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act to upgrade the “Wilderness Road from the head waters of the Roanoke River (near Lafayette, VA) across the Alleghany Mountains. Christiansburg was at the top of the mountain and Col. George Hancock was the low bidder, posting a $20,000 bond to complete the improvements in 4 years. A part of the road the Clarks traveled on the 22 nd was on the new Alleghany Turnpike. (1) William Lewis, where the Clarks stayed the evening of 22 Nov., became a trustee of Salem when it was founded in 1802. He had served in the Revolutionary War and rose to the rank of Major.
(2) (3)
The Lewis children had Whooping Cough (Pertussis) a highly contagious respiratory disease in any era. (4) The string Clark tied around Meriwether Lewis Clark’s neck “worked”. The “luck of Lewis and Clark” sure held true that evening and Julia’s first child did not contract “hooping cough”. 23rd Set out after an early breakfast, verry cold begun to snow and continued all day arrived at Col. Hancocks at dusk-great joy- 21 miles. They had arrived at Santallaine where Julia had grownup and married William Clark in January 1808. (5) Julia was at home and William Clark was familiar with the family and enslaved servants from visits in December 1806 and their marriage in 1807. The love and care for 11-month-old Meriwether Lewis a Clark is beyond imagination. William Clark’s “great joy” would be an understatement of happiness. William recorded: 24, 25, 26, and 27 at Col. Hancocks ; 28 dined with Mr. griffin’s (6) ; 29th at Col. Hancocks ; 30th at Mr. Lockhart Dined
(7) (8)
2nd Dec. at Col. Hancocks went to town & enjoyed a play on the stage. Col. Hancock gave me in Bank Notes & Silver $700 to have changed and sent to gen. Preston of Richmond. The hospitality of Fincastle and the entire lower Shenandoah Valley is a key to understanding Julia and William Clark’s lifestyle and respect for the people William served as a Federal Agent. Today the historic community of Fincastle and Botetourt County is a mirror to the era in which the Clarks lived. Fincastle was the jumping-off point on the Wilderness Road into the first west of Kentucky and beyond. Historic Fincastle has 20 structures or sites listed on the VA Department of Historical Resources. (9) Today the Botetourt County Historical Society and Museum is the nucleus of historical preservation and education in Botetourt County. (10) Unfortunately, the antebellum home of Col. Hancock burned in 1812, See page 50. Fortunately, the house was rebuilt in 1830 at the same site and today is beautifully restored and open for celebrations. Julia Hancock – Credit: NPS Santillane – Credit: Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Sources
(1) https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/31781/Ch1.pdf?sequence=11&isAllowed=y Page 4 (2) http://genealogytrails.com/vir/roanoke/history_salem.html (3) https://archive.org/details/franheitmanreg00bernrich/page/350/mode/2up page 350 (4) https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/index.html (5) https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/011-0032/
(6) Exact Griffin is uncertain, Genealogy websites report William Griffin (1750-1826) living in Fincastle.
(7) Exact Lockhart is uncertain. Capt. Patrick Lockhart lived in Botetourt Co, VA and was is listed in correspondence with Thomas Jefferson 8 Nov. 1780 –
(8) https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-04-02-0127 (9) https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/botetourt-county/page/2/ (10) https://bothistsoc.wordpress.com/