Planter History

     When Colonel Charles Lynch was born in Goochland Country (now Albemarle County) in 1736, Virginia was an English colony, and when he came to this area in 1755 the land between the Staunton and Otter Rivers was known as Bedford County. In 1782 Campbell County was formed in the eastern part of Bedford County.

     Colonel Charles Lynch was the eldest son of Major Charles Lynch, who emigrated from Ireland to Virginia as a boy and was bound out to Christopher Clark of Louisa County to pay for his passage to his new homeland. After working out his indenture, Charles married Sarah, the daughter of Christopher Clark, and represented Albemarle County in the House of Burgesses in 1748 and 1749.

     In 1740 Major James Lynch, Charles's grandfather, obtained grants of land that extended along the main roadway from the James River south to the Roanoke River, or as it is know in the area that touches Bedford, Campbell, Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Charlotte counties, the Staunton River. Many plantations were built along this river because it offered a means of transportation and fertile lowlands for crops. Often, claves were placed on a property to grow corn and tobacco even before the owner and established his home there. It is assumed that Lynch followed this practice in cultivating his land.

     In the division of the estate of Major Lynch, the lands on the James River, including the present site of the city of Lynchburg, were inherited by a younger son, John. The oldest son, Charles, inherited this tract of land on the Staunton and Otter Rivers, which he called Green Level for the great expanse of the lush green meadows. He also patented large tracts o land in Campbell and Bedford counties. He was quite a speculator in land, and the deed books document the many transactions. At the time time of his death, his acreage was 5,886 in Campbell County and the land tax records show that he owed 614 acres in Pittsylvania County and 200 acres in Montgomery County. 

    Young Charles married Anna Chiles Terrell in 1755 and brought her to live in a small log cabin which he had built earlier at Green Level. It was located in the field behind the present Avoca close to the river. On this farm Charles and Anna reared their five children: Charles, Anselm, John, Sallie, and Christopher. The first home, which was built on the site of the present Avoca, is said to have been a modest one-and-one-half story frame structure. 

    Juliet Fauntleroy, great great granddaughter of Colonel Charles Lynch, penned in undated correspondence the only known record of the Green Level house—a sketch of the floor plan. Records are not clear as to the date of construction nor as to whether the house was built by Colonel Lynch or one of his sons.

    Prosperity in Virginia was largely based on tobacco and this specialized crop for export was also raised at Green Level. After the tobacco was harvested it was bound into hogsheads, transported along mud roads to the James River at Lynch’s Ferry where it was sold and loaded onto bateaux for the journey to Richmond on the lower James. There it was inspected and prepared for export.

    Plantations were essentially self-sufficient. In addition to tobacco, plantations cultivated corn and wheat as cash crops. These provided money to buy necessary supplies. The saw mill on the property supplied wood for barrels, furniture, fences, and building materials. Horses were an indispensable part of plantation life since they were the primary mode of transportation. Cattle, sheep, and hogs were kept for meats and raw materials for clothing. The family used tanned hides for shoes. Fruits, vegetables, and grains cultivated on the plantation fed the family and slaves. Without the slaves, Southern plantations would not have prospered. Slaves tilled and harvested the fields. Some were skilled blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, weavers, and spinners. Others were domestic servants who cooked the meals and cared for the house.

    According to the personal property tax record of Campbell County, in 1786 Charles had twenty-four slaves and in the 1796 record he is listed as having thirteen slaves. Interestingly, it is recorded in the Campbell County deed book that in 1792 and in 1793, Charles Lynch freed five of his slaves, stating his conviction “that all men are by nature free, and agreeable to the command of our Savior Christ believe it our duty to do unto all men as we would they should do unto us.” Many Quakers opposed the practice of slavery and it is possible that the influence of Charles’ Quaker rearing could have prompted this move. The liberating spirit of the American Revolution could also have provided the impetus.

    Charles was an active member of the Quakers, one of the founders of the South River Meeting near Lynchburg, and Clerk of that meeting from 1758 until 1767. The 1767 minutes of the Quaker Society reveal that Charles was disowned because he took a solemn oath when he became a Bedford County Justice of Peace in 1766.

    Charles himself did not work the soil but employed an overseer who managed the labor. This allowed him to observe the duties and pursue the interests of a planter which kept him traveling much of the time. He attended the monthly county courts. He was present at musters of the county militia, assisted in supplying workmen for Bedford County courthouse at New London, was one of the trustees appointed to regulate the making of slopes for the passage of fish in the mill dams, and helped in administering the clearing of Staunton River for navigation. He cleared and cared for roads near his land. He also made regular trips down to places where tobacco was inspected on the lower James and periodic trips to Williamsburg, which was a six-day journey, to attend the House of Burgesses sessions, and later to Richmond.

    He had time for visiting neighbors and for various amusements. James Calloway, John Smith, Robert Adams, Benjamin Clement of nearby plantations were some of Charles’ friends with whom he enjoyed the races, fox chases, deer hunts, and fishing. Probably they also attended cockfighting events which were very much in fashion in Virginia.

    Entertainment for women included quilting bees, needlework, games, and visits with neighbors. Anna, like many women in her position, was the overseer of the many activities of home manufacture that sought to make the plantation self-supporting. Some of these were candle making, soap making, and the weaving and dying of cloth. She supervised the kitchen where the was prepared upon an open fire in iron pots, skillets, and Dutch ovens. She probably also supervised the dairy. Knitting was an ongoing activity, not only to supply the men and boys of the family with stockings but for the slaves as well.

    Charles died at his home in 1796 at the age of sixty and Anna survived him by eight years. Anselm married and stayed on Green Level and Charles, John, and Sallie married and moved away. Christopher died one year after his father.

    Colonel Lynch came to the frontier and carved a home out of the wilderness. He witnessed his country’s struggle for independence and joined in the fight for it. He was a tireless public servant as the colonies grew in confidence and strength to govern themselves. He lived to see George Washington serve as the first president of this new democracy—a union which had grown to sixteen states by the time of Charles’ death.