Our Ancestors of Adams County

This week we will continue our series on Our Ancestors of Adams County. Nancy Campbell, an abolitionist and pioneer of Adams County, Ohio, whose parents and siblings had chosen to not only remain in the slave state of Virginia, but were owners of plantations using a large population of slave labor.

John, Nancy’s brother, was the second oldest son of Arthur and Rebekah Glasgow. John was born in 1785, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. John married in 1815, to Martha “Patsy” McNutt, daughter of Colonel Alexander and Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt. Patsy was John’s first cousin. Colonel Alexander McNutt, (Nancy Campbell’s uncle) Patsy’s father and John’s mother, Rebekah (McNutt) Glasgow, were brother and sister. You might remember Patsy’s brother was Alexander Gallatin McNutt who was the governor of Mississippi. We wrote several articles about him and his friend who was murdered by his slaves.

Patsy’s father, Alexander McNutt, (1754-1812), was described as a planter, a slaveholder and a Presbyterian. Patsy’s mother, Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt, (1771-1841), was a woman of unusual character and ability. Rachel raised on the “Fruit Hill” plantation in Rockbridge County, was 17 years younger than Alexander. Alexander died in 1812 of pneumonia, leaving Rachel, a widow at age 40, with 13 children, all of whom she raised and saw to their education. She was able to operate their plantation with great success and was active in both politics and the Falling Spring Church. She saw that her daughters married well and her sons were successfully established in professions or business. Her death was due to an accidental fall in her 70th year.

I might make mention here a note concerning the Grigsby family. Rachel’s father was “Soldier John” Grigsby. We submitted an article about him several months ago. Soldier John had at least 14 children. Several of his children lived on plantations in Rockbridge County. We will be exploring these plantations as several of his children intermarried with Nancy Campbell’s siblings. The names of those plantations were Fancy Hill, Hickory Hill, Rose Hill, Clover Hill, Cherry Hill and Liberty Hill. Fruit Hill, we have already described when we wrote about “Soldier John”. These plantations were called the Seven Hills of Rockbridge County.

Patsy was born in 1798 and was 13 years younger than her husband, John Glasgow. Patsy was noted for her currant wine and the neatness of her housekeeping. Her floors were equaled only by the brilliantly waxed floors of her Aunt Verlinda (Porter) Grigsby. On them, it was said a boy might skate, but it was dangerous to walk. Verlinda lived at the “Hickory Hill” plantation. Verlinda was married to Rueben Grigsby, who was a brother to Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt, Patsy’s mother.

Circa 1820, John and Patsey built “Tuscan Villa” which was at the mouth of the South River near Buena Vista. The foundation stones were quarried on the property and the bricks were produced nearby. It was a large two-story home and the construction proceeded through several stages, but within a couple of decades the house assumed its final shape, which included four iconic columns, hence its name, “Tuscan Villa.”

They used slave labor to build their home, work their fields and perform domestic duties. Here John and Patsey raised their five children. One of their children died at 13 months of age, their oldest son died at age 19, and another daughter died just four months after she was married. Their youngest child, Martha (Glasgow) Bell, died in childbirth. Patsy also lost her husband John in 1830 when he was only 44 years of age, leaving her with only one child, Alexander McNutt Glasgow. Patsy died in 1865 of complications. They are all buried in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery.