The Parents of Arthur Edwards (1744-1820) of Augusta County, Virginia

Virgil Anson Lewis

Here is another Edwards Heirs mystery solved.

The Edwards Heirs Association newsletter claimed that Arthur Edwards, who married Jane Withrow and was buried in Mason County, West Virginia in 1820, was a son of Thomas Nathaniel Edwards Jr. But his actual parentage appears to have already been established by a competent historian using original records quite a while back. They were Hugh and Elizabeth Edwards of Augusta County, Virginia.

Per information from his Findagrave memorial:

Arthur, a Revolutionary War soldier, was in the battle of "Guilford Courthouse" under General Gates. In 1783, he bought land in the Shenandoah Valley, in Augusta Co, VA. Five years later, he moved to Greenbrier County and joined the settlers in and near Cook's Fort (now Monroe, Co, WV).

Isaac, son of Arthur and Jane (Withrow) Edwards, was 10 years old when the family came to Cook's Fort. At that time, there were five children. The rest of the 12, (four boys and eight girls) were at the fort before they came to Mason County in 1801.

Another source says Arthur settled in Mason County in 1808 with wife Jane and eight children.

Arthur Edwards born in Augusta County, VA, August 16th, 1744, and on January 15th, 1775, he married Jane Withrow, a daughter of Robert Withrow of Pennsylvania. Soon after, he returned to Virginia and purchased a farm of 160 acres on Lick Run, a branch of the North River or the Shenandoah. Deed dated June 15, 1779.

On August 18, 1783 he sold 100 acres of this land to John Kilkenny and on March 26, 1785, sold the remainder to Thomas Cragg and, two years later, on February 13, 1875 (sic), patented 135 acres of land located on the North River.

Soon after, probably the same year, he together with his family bade adieu to the Valley of Virginia and removed west to Greenbrier County where he settles on Indian Creek now Monroe County. Here he remained until 1801, where he again removed to the west and this time he located eight miles above Point Pleasant on the Ohio River. Here he died in 1820.

(History of Mason County, West Virginia)

Noted West Virginia historian Virgil Anson Lewis (1848-1912) reportedly stated that Arthur was the son of Hugh Edwards who immigrated from Wales to Pennsylvania and died in Augusta County, Virginia in 1752. Hugh's children were listed by Lewis as Joseph, David, Edward, Thomas, John, Sarah and Arthur. This genealogy appears in the 1913 book West Virginia and It's People, Vol. 1. The reference to Arthur and Hugh appears on pages 293-94.

This version is at least partially confirmed by records. A look through Augusta County records shows men named Hugh and John Edwards appearing as early as 1747. Court abstracts show John had a son named "Griffy" (probably Griffith) Edwards, whom he apprenticed in 1762. Hugh Edwards's estate was probated by his wife Elizabeth on November 22, 1753 and an Edward Edwards is also named in his estate papers. There is also a Thomas Edwards who appears by the 1780s. Arthur Edwards himself appears in the records of Augusta County on Mar. 26, 1785 when he and his wife Jane sold property to Thomas Gragg. For relevant deed and order abstracts, see Chronicles of the Scotch Irish Settlement in Virginia by Lyman Chalkey. I'm sure a deeper dive would reveal even more evidence of these connections.

According to his Wikipedia page, Virgil Anson Lewis was so esteemed a historian that his books were used in West Virginia public schools for decades. He was also a founder of the West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society and editor of the Southern Historical Magazine. Evidently his mother was an Edwards (specifically, a granddaughter of Arthur Edwards), so he had a personal relationship to this genealogy.