Vincent Calvin [aka Colvin], son of John & Elizabeth [Warford] Calvin, was probably born ca. 1738, either in Hunterdon Co., NJ or Bucks Co., PA where his parents were living by or before June 1742 when his father’s name appeared on a petition to form the township of Nockamixon. By December of 1742, his parents had moved to Hampshire Co., VA [WV] to the South Branch of the Potomac River near the settlement of Romney. At that time, this area of Virginia was part of Orange Co., later part of Frederick Co., formed from part of Orange Co., and eventually Hampshire Co., formed from Frederick Co., VA.
While the exact year of Vincent’s birth is uncertain, he was definitely an adult by 1761 as is proved by his attendance of three days as a witness before the Commissioners of Virginia, House of Burgesses, having traveled 50 miles to get there for which he was reimbursed 225 pounds of tobacco. He was still residing in Hampshire Co. on 21 May 1771 when he and Stephen Calvin witnessed the will of Elizabeth McGuire.
As the eldest son, Vincent was the sole inheritor by the then existing law of primogeniture of his father’s 369-acre land grant on the South Branch of the Potomac, Hampshire Co., his father having died without a will between 1769 and 1771. [Peter Steenberger’s store account ledger, Hampshire Co., document at Colson Hall, West Virginia State University.]
Vincent was also a patron of Peter Steenberger’s store for a brief time in 1767. It was in his debit account that we find mention of “Jam. Colvin” and John “Dekker.” He had also assumed the balance of his wife’s account of 11-1/4 shillings, but by the end of 1767, he had completely paid off his account balance.
Vincent Calvin’s first wife was Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Foreman, maiden name unknown but suspected to have been Decker. They were married before 5 March 1765 when Vincent Colvin & Elizabeth “his Wife” were appointed administrators of Thomas Foreman’s estate in Hampshire Co. Elizabeth brought two sons into her marriage – Joseph Foreman born in 1763 and Thomas Foreman born in 1765.
Before 19 May 1775, Vincent and family had removed to what was then called West Augusta District, VA but later became Yohogania Co., VA and in 1781 Washington Co., PA after Virginia had relinquished its claim of that area to Pennsylvania. On that date in 1775, Vincent sold his 369 acres of land in Hampshire Co., to his brother, Stephen Calvin for 5 shillings and “a peppercorn,” basically giving this land to Stephen [Hampshire Co., VA Deed Book 4: 132-133, lease and release, recorded 11 June 1776, witnessed by Nicholas Casey, Isaac Parson, William McGuire and Bauldin Parson. His wife, Elizabeth, was unable to travel to Hampshire Co. for this transaction, so she was privately examined as to the release of her dower rights at her home.
Vincent was granted land in Fallowfield Twp., West Augusta District, VA [Washington Co., PA] as early as 1769 when he appears on a list with Luther Calvin, also a land owner in 1769, per Settlers/Land Owners on Pigeon Creek 1770-1787, compiled by Katherine K. Zinsser and Lyle B. Watson, citing as their source, Raymond M. Bell’s “Yohogania Co., VA Land Certificates.” [The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 7, pub. 1963, pp. 78 & 103; and Bureau of Land Records – New Purchase – Pennsylvania 1769.]
Vincent served in the 5th Battalion of the Washington Co. Militia, appearing on a list with Luther Calvin [both privates 1st class], company of Capt. Thomas Parkeson under Col. Thomas Crook’s command. [Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Vol. II, #19106, p. 163]. The D.A.R. papers of descendant Mary Adeline Frye [Supplemental Nat’l #56894] claims his rank as captain of the Washington Co., PA Militia in 1777 and Crumrine’s Washington Co., PA history does indeed so list him “at a Council of War held at Catfish Camp [now Washington] in the District of West Augusta the 28th day of January, Anno Domini, 1777.” This council was attended by several county lieutenants and field officers of three counties and by 32 captains of militia. The council was concerned at the time with the possibility of Indian hostilities rather than with the Revolutionary War. Vincent Colvin took the Oath of Allegiance & Fidelity on 24 May 1779 as prescribed by law. His name also appears in various records of Washington Co., PA as a road viewer, juryman, etc., and on 28 Dec 1782, a registry of slave owners named “Vinson Colvan” as the owner of two slaves.
The Washington Co., PA Supply Tax List of 1781 lists Vincent Colvin in Fallowfield Twp. with 1,430 acres, 5 horses, 10 cattle, 18 sheep, with a total value of $700. His brother, Luther Colvin, was on the same list with no land, 2 horses, 3 cattle and 6 sheep, total value of $23.00. It appears that Luther was actually living on land which his brother, Stephen Calvin, had been granted on 26 Aug 1769, but never occupied. Also being granted land on that date was Vincent Calvin, Joseph Furman [by his stepfather, Vincent Calvin], Jas. Calvin, and the Deckers – Joseph, Moses, Tobias, John and Abram. Vincent’s land was described as 300 acres “On the West side of Monongahala about 3 miles from the mouth of Pidgeon Creek, includ’g the improv’t where he now lives.” Stephen’s land was described as 300 acres “On the West side of Mnongahala ab’t 1-1/2 miles from the mouth of Pidgeon Creek include’g his improv’t.” It does not appear that Stephen ever occupied that land [or if so, not for long] but let his brother, Luther, settle on it. While Vincent may have been living on this land by 1769 or before, Luther did not settle there until later in the 1770’s.
Vincent received another land grant on 28 Mar 1780 for 470 acres of land on Pigeon Creek. He called this tract the “Home Place.” On 29 Feb/11 Mar 1788, Warrant 192 was issued to Vincent Calvin for another 321 acres and 100 perches on Pigeon Creek, a tract, which he named “Good Fortune.” This was a civilian purchase. On 22/29 Mar 1788, Warrant 199 was issued to Vincent Colvin for 304 acres 120 perches on Pigeon Creek, which he named “The Farm,” and on 19/27 Jan 1796, Warrant 262 was issued to Vincent for 196 acres on Pigeon Creek, which he called “Green Eminence.” He sold land on 5 Oct 1786 on Pigeon Creek to Nicholas Johnston, on 1 May 1798 land on Pigeon Creek to Wm. Neblick, and on 13 Sept 1809, land in Fallowfield Twp., Washington Co., PA to James Hair.
Vincent was assessed for owning a distillery in 1788. On 14 Nov 1794 toward the end of the Whiskey Insurrection [1791-1794], Vincent Colvin of Washington Co., PA had two stills seized, capacity 80 and 65 gallons. [History of Washington County [PA], 1870, by Alfred Creigh, LL.D., Appendix p. 11]. This history states that Washington Co., PA was settled by pioneers from the Cumberland Valley and Virginia after the close of the war with Pontiac in 1763. Settlements were made along the Monongahela.]
Vincent’s first wife, the widow Elizabeth Foreman, died [about 1781?] leaving six children. It then appears that Vincent married 2nd about 1782 to Charity Wright. Proof of this second wife is scanty but impressive. The Early History of the Peters Creek Valley and The Early Settlers by Noah Thompson, pp. 127-128, contains a sketch of Joshua Wright who had settled on that creek, stating that he married Charity, daughter of John Harris. It adds that Joshua Wright, on his way to New Orleans with a boatload of provisions, was attacked by Indians, captured, and burned at the stake. He left 3 children, Lydia, Enoch and Agnes. Joshua’s widow married Mr. Colvin of Pigeon Creek. The date of Joshua Wright’s administration bond was 3 July 1782, his property sold on 3 Sept 1782. In 1782, there were only two by the name of Colvin living on Pigeon Creek – Vincent and his brother, Luther, and since Luther’s wife was still living when Luther left in 1785 for Kentucky, we must conclude that Vincent was the Colvin whom Charity Wright married. It was to be a short marriage. She was deceased by 1783 and she had no known children by Vincent Colvin.
Vincent’s last wife was also named Elizabeth, her maiden name unknown. In the 1830 census, Elizabeth was aged 60 to 70 [born 1760-1770], living next door to her widowed daughter, Lucy [Colvin] Frye. Elizabeth’s will was dated 4 May 1830, probated 30 July 1830 [Washington Co., PA Wills, Vol. 4:526]. She named sons Stephen, Moses and Lot [$1.00 to each], son Joshua [147 acres], son Lot [money in trust “for my daughter Charlotta and her children”; daughter Harriet Baxter and her children; daughter Lucia Fry and her children [2 acres bought from James Fry next to Samuel Baxter and A. Williams]. She named executors James Gordon and Joseph Wilson of Williamsport, and the will was witnessed by D. Weaver, Jesse Martin and W. M. Weaver. This compiler speculates that Elizabeth may have been nee Mitchell or had a family connection to James Mitchell who witnessed Vincent’s will and was guardian to two of her children after Vincent’s death.
The will of Vincent Colvin of Fallowfield Twp., Washington Co., PA [Book Vol. 2:359] was dated 7 Sept 1811 and probated 22 Apr 1812. He named his wife Elizabeth; sons John [land bounded by Van Vorhis’s land]; Vincent [land bounded by McCombas & Van Vorhis]; Joshua [land by Abraham Hickman on Pigeon Creek and Sugar Camp]; Moses [land bounded by Peter Cheseround and Daniel McCombas]; Lot [land bounded by James Hair, Nicholas Platter, etc.]; William [to get $1.00]; and Stephen [executor with James Hair]. He also named his daughters – Agnes Powell, Lucy Fry, Susannah Wilson, Harriet Colvin and Charlotte Frye - $200.00 to each of them. Abraham Hickman, David Norris and James Mitchell witnessed his will.
Vincent’s personal property inventory was extensive. His wearing apparel consisted of a great coat, 9 jackets, 4 pairs of overalls, 2 pairs of breeches, a flannel short, a linen shirt, and a handkerchief. Besides household furniture including a looking glass, and thread and cloth, it lists many horses, cows, sows and pigs, much farm equipment, bridles and saddles and saddlebags, bushels of buckwheat, oats, corn, and rye, cider barrels, bacon, “unbroken” flax and “hackled” flax, flour, sugar, and vinegar, a desk and “a lot of books,” not identified by title, an inkstand and money scales, and a Negro boy named Ben. It amounted in value to $1,334.11, plus property worth $1,384.11, and cash and notes amounting to $273.80. The estate was finally settled on 22 Mar 1817.
CHILDREN [by the 1st wife, Elizabeth ( ) Foreman]:
1. Agnes Colvin was born ca 1765-1770 in Hampshire Co., VA She died between 1830-1840 in Greenup Co., KY. She married Joseph Powell and they had re-moved to Greenup Co., KY before the 1810 census. In that census, Agnes was age 26 to 45 and in the 1830 census, she was age 60 to 70. According to “Old Times,” an undated newspaper article written by the Rev. James Gilruth, the Powells settled near Agnes’s uncle, Stephen Colvin [sic]. Joseph Powell is described as an illustrious farmer and a member of the Baptist church. Rev. Gilruth gave the names of the Powell children as Vincent who married Polly Kelly; Benjamin who married a daughter of Rev. John Young, and Catherine but also said that this was only a partial listing. In the 1810 census, the Powell family consisted of 3 males under age 10, 3 males aged 10 to 16, 2 males aged 16 to 26, a female under 10, and a female 16 to 26, as well as Joseph Powell who was over age 45. Vincent Powell was said to have gone to Ohio. The History of Greenup Co., KY [pg. 11] gives basically the same information except to say that Benjamin Powell’s wife was Nancy Young.
2. Moses Colvin [1st] was born [ca 1768?]. He married Nancy Frye and died before 1796 when Vincent, his father, named a second son Moses. Moses 1st had one known child, Dorsey “Dos” Colvin, who married Hester/Esther Frye, born 15 Feb 1804, died 8 Aug 1870 in Peoria, IL, daughter of Abraham Frye and Hester Johnston. [Data from Mrs. Helen Sole, Oaktown, IN.] Per Jean [Colvin] Fenwick of Washington Co., PA, Dorsey “died young” and his widow and five children removed to Peoria Co., IL where she married 2nd John Kellar on 12 Nov 1839 [Lic. 352, Vol. 1:47]. Mrs. Fenwick named the children of Dorsey as Anne Margaret Colvin married George Slough; Josephine Colvin [twin] married Andrew Nelson; Joan Colvin [twin] who died young; James Gilbert Colvin married Hattie Hummason; and Myra Belle Colvin married William Dempsey.
Dorsey Colvin never appears as head of household in any Pennsylvania census record and unfortunately, Mrs. Fenwick was mistaken about his children although later she stated that Dorsey had two children, names unknown [not a trace of whom have been found], and his wife had 5 children by her second husband. The ones originally named by Mrs. Fenwick as children of Dorsey were actually the children of his wife’s second marriage to John Kellar. Esther/Hester had gone to Peoria Co., IL with her brother, Benjamin Frye, who was sheriff of the county and there she met and married John Kellar in 1839. He apparently died between about 1846 and 1850. Esther is enumerated in the 1850 and 1860 census in Richwoods Twp., Peoria Co., IL as head of household. Her eldest child in 1850 was Anna who was born ca 1841. In 1870, Hester was living with her son, James G. Keller and his wife Harriet in Richwoods Twp.
3. John Colvin born about [1770?]. In 1793, he appears on Washington Co., PA tax lists as a “single freeman” which means he was age 21 or over. In the 1800 census, John was age 26 to 45. He was living in 1814 when his father’s will was probated. He married Mary _________ about [1795?]. In the 1800 Washington Co., PA census, John’s family had 3 males and 3 females, all under the age of 10, 1 female age 10 to 16, and he and his wife, both age 26 to 45. He doesn’t appear thereafter in Washington Co., PA census records. According to Jean [Colvin] Fenwick, John owned other land besides where he lived. He sold that land between 1812 and 1816. In March 1814, John Colvin, oldest [living] son of Vincent Colvin, petitioned the courts to divide his deceased father’s property, he having died seized of 150 acres in Fallowfield Twp. [Orphans’ Court dockets 1781-1830, pg. 6 (48), Bl.334, March Term 1814] I have no further data on John, his wife or his children.
4. Susannah Colvin born about [1772?]; living in 1814; married before 1790 George Wilson. No further data.
5. Vincent Colvin born 1774-1784 [age 16/26 in 1800]; he married Hannah _____, who signed a deed for the sale of land in 1816 in Washington Co., PA. In 1810 Vincent’s household included 1 male under 10, 1 male 10 to 16, 1 male and 1 female age 26 to 45. He is not found after the 1810 census.
6. William Colvin born 1774-1784 [age 16 to 26 in 1800]. William is not found in census records as head of household until the 1830 census of Fallowfield Twp., Washington Co., PA. His family consisted of 1 male 5 to 10, 1 male 30 to 40 [an erroneous age if this was the right William], 1 female 10 to 15 and 1 female 30 to 40. William is not found in later census records.
CHILDREN [by 3rd wife Elizabeth ________]:
7. Stephen Colvin was born 5 Oct 1784 in Fallowfield Twp., Washington Co., PA and he died there in April 1846 [will dated 18 Apr 1846, probated 1 May 1846, Vol. 6:429]. Stephen married 22 Dec 1812 in Washington Co., PA to Mary “Polly” Frye, born 12 June 1796 at Lock No. 4 [Fallowfield Twp.], Washington Co., PA, died there 29 Jan 1875, daughter of Abraham and Esther/Hester [Johnston] Frye. Stephen’s will named sons John, Vincent, Stephen, Lewis and Abraham. To son Stephen, he left land purchased from George Cheseround. To son Lewis, he left “that land of my brother Moses.” To son Abraham, he left land “sold to him by me as executor of the will of Abraham Hickman.” Stephen named daughters Hester Richardson; Lucinda, wife of Thomas Richardson; and Nancy McCrory. Executors were Abraham Van Voorhis, a “friend & neighbor” and son Abraham Colvin. Witnesses were James Dickey and William McKennan. The dates of birth of Stephen’s children were taken from family Bible records in the possession of Jean [Colvin] Fenwick, a descendant.
Children of Stephen & Mary “Polly” [Frye] Colvin were:
8. Charlotte “Lottie” Colvin b. 1784-1790; married before 1811 James Frye who was born 7 Sept 1786, the son of Abraham Frye and Hester Johnston, and a brother to Mary Frye, wife of Charlotte’s brother, Stephen; a brother to Noah Frye who married Charlotte’s sister, Lucy; and a brother of Esther Frye who married Charlotte’s nephew, Dorsey Colvin, son of Charlotte’s half-brother, Moses 1st Colvin.
9. Lucy Colvin b. 1790-1800 [age 30 to 40 in the 1830 census]; she married before 1811 to Noah Frye who was born 12 Jan 1790, son of Abraham Frye and Hester Johnston. Noah Frye was killed at a coal bank near Dagg’s Ferry. Known child: Hester Frye.
10. Lot Colvin b. 1790-1800 [age 30 to 40 in 1830]; he married after 1812 Rebecca Stecher. Lot died before 1836 and is buried in the Old Lutheran Cemetery in Washington Co., PA. In Oct. 1812, Lot Colvin, minor son of Vincent Colvin, made choice of James Mitchell as his guardian. [Orphans’ Court Book pg. 291] In 1830, Lot’s family contained 1 male under 5, 1 female under 5, and 1 female 5 to 10. According to the History of Washington County [PA], pg. 696, Lot was killed by being thrown from his horse at the “old trading post of the Valley Inn.” Before 24 Oct 1836, the widow, Rebecca, had remarried to a Weill, and Isaac Van Voorhis was appointed guardian of her three minor children, Elizabeth, Henry and Vincent Colvin. [Orphans Court Book D-1, pg. 273, Oct. Term 1836] Known children:
11. Moses Colvin II born 28 Mar 1796; died 12 June 1845, age 49 years 2 months 15 days. In Oct 1812, Moses Colvin, minor son of Vincent Colvin, chose Abraham Frie [sic] as his guardian. In Oct 1813, Moses asked the court to appoint James Fry as his guardian as Abraham Fry was deceased. [Orphans’ Court Book, pp. 291 and 316]. Abraham Frye had died on 21 Aug 1813. Abraham Frye was the father of James who married Charlotte “Lottie” Colvin, Noah who married Lucy Colvin, and Mary who married Stephen Colvin, all children of Vincent Colvin, Sr., as well as the father of Esther/Hester who married Dorsey Colvin, grandson of Vincent, Sr.
Moses II Colvin married Rebecca Grant who was born 15 Jan 1808 in Carroll Twp., Washington Co., PA and died in 1894 in Washington Co., PA, age 86 years, buried in Maple Creek Cemetery. She was the daughter of Robert Grant and Harriet Legg. In 1850, Rebecca was listed as head of household, living in Carroll Twp., Washington Co., PA, along with 7 of her 8 living children.
12. Joshua Colvin b. 1800-1810 [age 20 to 30 in 1830]. He apparently married shortly before 1830 when he appears as head of household in that census, living in Fallowfield Twp., Washington Co., PA, with himself and wife aged 20 to 30, and one male aged under 5. Not traced after 1830.
13. Harriet Colvin born after 1800; married before 1830 Samuel Baxter. She was under age 14 in June of 1813 when Elizabeth Colvin, her mother, advised the court that Vincent Colvin had died leaving Harriet a considerable personal estate. James Mitchell was appointed Harriet’s guardian. Harriet had Baxter sons who served in the Civil War and at least one daughter, Mary Jane Baxter, who married Garrett Townsend Van Voorhis.