[from Richmond Times-Dispatch, 28 Apr 1935]
The Man Buried Sitting Up.
Legend of Col. George Hancock's Weird Interment Substantiated by Fotheringay Owner's Exploration of the Vault - By Randolph S. Hancock
Mystery probably shrouds no member of Virginia's illustrious Revolutionary War hero's last resting place with more curiosity than that of Colonel George Hancock, soldier and member of Congress, whose tomb is situated between Elliston and Shawsville, Va. The traveler through the beautiful Roanoke Valley, no doubt, has had hit attention called to the tomb of Colonel Hancock, resting high up on the mountainside, with the exclamation "that's the tomb of the man buried standing up." Of all the landmarks of this history-laden valley, the tomb of Colonel Hancock gets the most attention. It is pointed out time and again to travelers through this section and it never fails to arouse a profound curiosity manifest in a desire to know the details of the legend shrouding the last earthly remains of this Virginian. The tradition has grown richer with the passing of years.
There has always been some doubt in the minds of the most ardent believers of the story as to the authenticity of the legend, but in an interview given to the Norfolk and Western Magazine, Miss Anne Beale Edmundson, who, with her sister, Marie Antoinette, and her brother, Granville Eskridge, now own the original Hancock property, new light is shed on the mystery which may lend, partly, credulity to the fact that the colonel was placed in the mausoleum either standing or sitting in a marble chair. It was pointed out by Miss Edmundson, that she, with other members of the family, went into the vault in 1886 preparatory to having it repaired. On the floor a mass of crumbled bones and stones were found. Near the top of the heap was the skull of what she supposed was the last of the earthly remains of Colonel Hancock. At the bottom of the pile were other bones identified as the legs and trunk. The position of the bones and the fact that they were intermingled with the disintegrated stone led to the belief that the body had rested upon some kind of support in a sitting position. While the supposition of Miss Edmundson cannot be supported by facts, the theory is, nevertheless, a logical one, and is more credible than the common assumption that the colonel was interred in a standing position.
Owner tells of Finding Bones of Family.
The interview of Miss Edmundson follows: "I can hardly believe he was placed in the vault in a standing position. If that were true, it would have been necessary to support his body with a chain or some other device to prevent it from falling down. When I examined the interior of the vault I found no chain nor other supports which could have been used for this purpose. The theory as to Colonel Hancock's burial in a sitting position is further substantiated by the fact that the tomb contains three other bodies, all laid to rest in the usual way. These are his daughter, Julia, who married General William Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark, conqueror of the Northwest Territory; a son, John Strother Hancock, who died at the age of 8, and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Patrick Lockhart, who was the former Mrs. George Strother, mother of Margaret Strother, wife of Colonel Hancock. When I entered the vault I found the bones of all three of these bodies intact in their niches in the walls of the tomb. If Colonel Hancock had not been buried in an unusual way, why didn't his bones occupy a niche in the wall like the others?"
While many will, no doubt, cling to the ancient legend that the sage of "Fotheringay" was interred in a standing position, the deductions of Miss Edmundson's have all the earmarks of logic. The front of the vault is composed of 76 marble blocks, placed in an orderly arrangement. The base of the tomb measures 17 feet. Sitting upon the pyramided pinnacle, one notices an unusually shaped block that appears ready to fall off with the slightest disturbance. The fact is, Time has left many indications of its ravages on the brave little edifice. The front wall, which seals the entrance, and built 48 years ago, is now the most substantial part of the mausoleum. On three different occasions the tomb has been sealed, according to Miss Edmundson. The first after Colonel Hancock and his children and mother-in-law were buried; again just after the War Between the States during which it was badly damaged by vandals, and finally, in 1836, by Miss Edmondson.
Judging from the entrance, inside the vault must be about eight feet high and about 30 feet deep. The roof is of stone.
During the years since the tomb was excavated from the mountainside, nature has bequeathed it a covering of earth from which has sprung pine, dogwood and cedar trees. A carpet of pine needles and dogwood leaves on the ground softens the step of the approaching visitor. Nature has decreed this hallowed spot quietness. In the heavy underbrush of the mountainside one may hear the hymeneal of a wren intermingled with the lullaby of the branches of the trees as they sway in the arms of a southerly breeze. The sun's afternoon rays upon the stone wall gives it a glistening whiteness, causing the mausoleum to become visible for miles away. How different is the landscape one views today when standing on the threshold of the tomb compared to the one the Lord of Fotheringay must have known when he reigned over "Happy Valley." People have come. Railways and highways have superseded the inadequate trails of the Indian and buffalo.
In an old manuscript we find this account of the vault on the mountainside, crediting the more logical theory of Miss Edmundson that Colonel Hancock was placed in the vault in a sitting position: "High on the hillside overlooking Happy Valley where flow the headwaters of Roanoke River, in a white mausoleum he had himself caused to be excavated from solid rock, the earthly remains of Colonel George Hancock and his daughter, Julia, were laid and to his day the darkies of the region say with trembling, 'De Cunnel he set up dah in a stone chair so's he cud look down de valley and see his slaves at work.'"
Surely, no longer can "De Cunnel see his slaves at work," but if his soul should ever visit the neighborhood it would doubtless be startled at the changes the landscape has taken on during the past century.
Family Bible Corrects Biographer's Errors.
Unfortunately most recorders of Virginia history have erred in their biographical sketches of Colonel Hancock. Chiefly among them being Colonel William Preston Johnston in his "The Johnstons of Salisbury," published in 1897. In this book he devotes several chapters to Colonel George Hancock, his ancestry and descendants. He states that Colonel George Hancock was a descendant of William Hancock, one of the incorporators of the Second Charter of James I, 1609, and who came to Virginia in 1620. From "the family Bible," Colonel Johnston quotes these records: "From that time (1620, when William Hancock came to Virginia) down to the Revolution we have no authentic annals of the family, except the brief record of the family Bible. Summed up, it brings us to Colonel George Hancock of Fotheringay, thus: 'Augustin's son, William, born 1631, left son George (1st), born 1658. He left one son, Robert, born 1679; died 1732. Robert had seven children, five of whom died without issue. The fifth child, George (2nd) born 1724; married Mary Jones and had three sons and a daughter. He died during the Revolutionary War. One of his sons, Augustin, born 1756, died in the army, unmarried. His eldest son, a cripple, also died unmarried. His son, George (3d), known as Colonel George Hancock of Fotheringay, was born in 1754; married Margaret Strother, at Fincastle, Va., September 18, 1781, and died at Fotheringay July 18, 1820.
The following is a record taken from the family Bible: "In ye year 1620, William Hancock in search of Forrest for his building of ships, embarked for ye Plantations, being one of ye company of owners thereof, leaving his familie in England; on ye 22d of March, 1622, he, with others, was massacreed by ye salvages at Thorpe's House, Berkeley Hundred, 50 miles from Charles City."
"In 1630, Augustin, son and heir of William, came to Virginia to claim the estate, and died, leaving children, Robert, William, Sarah and Ruth. William died in 1672, leaving two sons, George and Jubal. George died leaving one son, Robert, born 1711; he was an ancestor of Colonel William Hancock of Bedrod County, Va. . . . George Hancock and Mary Jones' children were Edward, born 1752; never married; died 1820; George, born June 13, 1754, died July 18, 1820; he married Peggy or Margaret Strother (daughter of George Strother and Mary Kennerly), whose second marriage was to Major Lockhart."
The records prove conclusively that practically all of the foregoing statements as to Colonel George Hancock ancestry are incorrect. The records show that the father of Colonel George Hancock was George, his grandfather was Robert, born 1688, and not 1679. It is further stated by Colonel Johnston that "at the opening of the Revolutionary War, though a very young man, George Hancock entered the service as a Colonel in the Virginia line." The records show that he entered the Revolutionary Was as an ensign from Chesterfield County, Va., in 1776, and that he received his title as colonel in 1785 by appointment to the Virginia militia from Botetourt County. An interesting note in Colonel Hancock's military career is his attachment to Count Pulaski's staff, and, it was he who received the body of the illustrious Pole in his arms when he fell from his horse at the siege of Savannah.
Fotheringay Named for English Castle.
From the union of Colonel Hancock and Margaret Strother were born five children: Mary, Caroline, John, Julia and George. Mary married John Caswell Griffin; Caroline was wed to Major William Preston, who attained fame with General Anthony Wayne in his subjugation of the Indian tribes. John died in youth. Julia married General William Clark, who, with Meriwether Lewis, was joint discoverer of the mouth of the Columbia River. General William Clark was also the younger brother of George Rogers Clark, conqueror of the Northwest Territory.
Fotheringay, the home of Colonel Hancock, took its name from that of a castle in England, where the imprisonment, trial and execution of Mary, queen of Scots, took place. Though more than a century has passed since Colonel Hancock was in charge of the estate, it is interesting to note the almost perfect state of preservation the house is in. Its interior is beautiful. Spacious rooms, high ceilings, picturesque windows and a large fireplace are indelible marks of a golden age in home construction. Hand-carved wood work, one of the lost arts of modern home building, is to be found in this old home. An interesting bit of Virginia romantic lore in this old house is the stains, just above the sofa, on the original wallpaper, of the pomaded coiffures of lovely ladies. Much more of historic lore is to be found in and around this famous home. Garden clubs of Virginia find it a never-ending source of interest for pilgrimages.
