Person Page - 3663

     Col. John Mottrom Col. John Mottrom (or Mattrom), a Cavalier immigrant often regarded as the founder or first English settler of the Northern Neck of Virginia, is believed to have been born in Cheshire, England, about 1610. By 1640, he settled at York, founded by Governor Sir John Harvey and located on the York River at the west side of Wormeley’s Creek, three miles away from latter-day Yorktown. At that time York and Chiskiack were the first two plantations on the York River. Mottrom used a shallop to trade with other plantations in Virginia and Maryland.

About 1645, Mottrom settled at Chicacoan (or Coan), the first English settlement on the Virginia side of the Potomac River at the confluence of the Coan and Potomac Rivers in what was soon to become Northumberland County, Virginia. His home there became a refuge for Protestants and some disenchanted Catholics across the Potomac River in Maryland who opposed the Roman Catholic government of Lord Baltimore.

For the first few years of the Chicacoan settlement, its residents enjoyed living tax-free and free from governmental control until authorities needed revenue to finance the Indian wars, which cause the House of Burgesses to pass an act levying taxes on Chicacoan residents in the form of tobacco payments. The residents were alarmed, and Mottrom became involved. John Mottrom was present at the State House at Jamestown Island (James City), the first colonial capital of Virginia, on November 20, 1645. It probably took several days to sail from Northumberland down the Potomac into the Bay and then up the James River to Jamestown. Here the Assembly acknowledged Mottrom as a Burgess from the Plantation of Northumberland. Shortly afterwards, Northumberland County was created, at which time Mottrom became its first Burgess, and he served again in 1652. Mottrom’s home at Coan was the first county seat. At Coan he established the first wharf and warehouse on the Northern Neck. Mottrom also served as Presiding Justice and Colonel of the Militia, making him the highest ranking military officer of the Northern Neck.

The land acquired by Col. John Mottrom on the Northern Neck and/or Middle Peninsula amounted to more than 8222 acres, largely for transporting over 100 settlers to the Colony of Virginia. These land grants included sites on the "Pyankatanke River," on Nomini Bay and the Potomac, on the Coan, at Doegs Island and vicnity, and on "Wicocomoco Creek." Mottrom’s "Coan Hall," which was the site of his large personal library, no longer survives. There is a Victorian cottage, built about 1870, near what is believed to have been the home site. It is on Route 630 near Claraville in Northumberland County.

Mottrom was known to be married twice and had three children. His first wife was the mother of his children Anne (who married Captain Richard Wright, then David Fox, then St. Leger Codd), John, Jr. (who married Hannah Fox and Ruth Griggs), and Frances (who married Nicholas Spencer, Acting Governor of the Colony of Virginia in 1683-84, and (second) Reverend John Bolton). Mottrom’s second wife was Ursula Bish Thompson, who after Mottrom’s death married (third) George Colclough. Two years after John Mottrom died about 1655 in Northumberland, his 1657 estate inventory was valued at 33896 pounds of tobacco.

Mottrom’s descendants have played a major role in the heritage of the Northern Neck and elsewhere. His grandson, Major Francis Wright, married a great-aunt of George Washington, and was one of the principal contributors to and vestryman of Westmoreland’s historic Yeocomico Episcopal Church in Cople Parish. Distinguished jurists Spencer Roane (1762-1822) and nephew Thomas Ritchie (1778-1854), natives of Tappahannock, Virginia, and namesakes of two West Virginia counties, were Mottrom descendants. Among others, Jamestowne Society Chesapeake Bay Company member and local historian/ author Charles Willard Hoskins Warner descends from Colonel John Mottrom, as did Westmoreland County educator James Dall Brown, Jr., late husband of member Virginia Felts Brown of Westmoreland, and second cousin of Bryan Godfrey’s paternal grandfather.

Sources include the following (for the biographical information above and for the lineage information below): “Mottrom—Wright—Spencer—Ariss—Buckner” in Volume V of Genealogies of Virginia Families From the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine (published by Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland in 1982); "Ayres-Dawson and Allied Families," by Henrietta Dawson Ayres Sheppard (1871-1960) of Hanover, Pennsylvania (published posthumously by The American Historical Company, Incorporated, 1961), and "The Stronghold: A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People," by Miriam Haynie (published by The Dietz Press of Richmond, Virginia in 1959). Information on Mottrom and his activities is scattered throughout the early chapters of this narrative.¹ He was born circa 1610 at Cheshire, England.¹ He died circa 1655 at Coan, Northumberland Co., Virginia.¹

     Her Social Security Number was 227-52-1493.³ Her married name was Mountcastle.⁴ Loralye Diane "Lea" Skailes married Charles Russell Mountcastle Sr., son of Russell Dearth Mountcastle and Thelma Lucille Palmer.^4,2 Loralye Diane "Lea" Skailes was born on May 30, 1938.³ She died on March 15, 1998 at Roanoke Co., Virginia, at age 59.^1,3,2 She MOUNTCASTLE, Lorayle Diane, ("Lea"), 59, of Salem, passed away Sunday, March 15, 1998. She was a kind and patient mother, always willing to help children as a volunteer at Glenvar High School. She enjoyed camping on the weekends with her family. Lea could always be overheard at sporting events, encouraging her sons. She was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, Charles R. Mountcastle. She will be greatly missed by her sons and daughters-in-law, Charles Russell, Steve Allen and Rita, Thomas Russell and Carolyn, Russell D. and Laura, Mark Lee and Wendalyn Mountcastle; grandchildren, Crystal, Deanna, Mark, Casey, Matthew, Renea, Rachel Mountcastle. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 1998, at 6 p.m. from the chapel of John M. Oakey & Son, Salem, with Rev. Ira Tolliver officiating. The family will receive friends after the funeral. on March 17, 1998.²

     Russell Derth Mountcastle was born on September 5, 1961 at Montgomery Co., Virginia.¹ He married Laura Leigh Coffey on July 10, 1988 at Roanoke, Virginia.¹ Russell Derth Mountcastle and Laura Leigh Coffey were divorced on June 8, 2001 at Roanoke Co., Virginia.⁴ Russell Derth Mountcastle married Debra Elaine Brown on January 14, 2002 at Salem, Roanoke Co., Virginia.¹ Russell Derth Mountcastle died on May 6, 2017 at Virginia at age 55.² He Russell D. Mountcastle, 55, of Salem, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, May 6, 2017. He was born in Montgomery County, a son of the late Charles and Loralye Mountcastle, and had been a Salem area resident all of his life. He was also preceded in death by grandparents, Russell and Thelma Mountcastle, and a brother, Charlie Mountcastle. He is survived by his loving wife, Debra Mountcastle; daughter, Casey Leigh Mountcastle; three brothers, Steve Mountcastle and his wife Rita, Tommy Mountcastle, and Mark Mountcastle and his wife Wendy. Russell is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m., Sunday, May 14, 2017 at the Chapel of John M. Oakey & Son, Salem. Pastor Warren Brown Jr. will officiate. The family will receive friends for two hours prior to the service, beginning at 2 p.m., at the funeral home. on May 11, 2017.²

     Charles Russell Mountcastle Jr. was born on August 28, 1956 at California.¹ He married Vicky Wanette Warfe on April 18, 1975 at Salem, Roanoke Co., Virginia.¹

     His Social Security Number was 231-22-5474.³ Perry Carter Farmer Jr. was buried at Sunset Cemetery, 501 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.² He was born on January 16, 1926 at Virginia.^1,3,2 He died on September 30, 1984 at Salem, Roanoke Co., Virginia, at age 58.²

     William Earl Farmer was buried at Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, 5070 Cove Road N. W., Roanoke, Virginia.⁴ He was born on October 15, 1927 at Montgomery Co., Virginia.^2,3 He married Alice Sue Wood on July 15, 1940 at Floyd Co., Virginia.² William Earl Farmer died on February 26, 2021 at Virginia at age 93.⁴ He William E. "Bill" Farmer, 93, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away peacefully at his daughter's home on Friday, February 26, 2021. He was retired from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after 32 years and was a United States Air Force Veteran. Bill was preceded in death by the love of his life and his wife of 66 years, Alice "Sue" Farmer, and his son, William E. Farmer Jr. Left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Beverly Damewood (Scott); his son, Mike Farmer; daughters-in-law, Rita Farmer and Mia Farmer; grandchildren, William E. Farmer III (Jessie), Justin Farmer (Chris), Sarah Mays (Shawn), Adam Damewood, Lauren Farmer, and Michaela Brizendine (Dannie). Bill was a long-standing member of Summerdean Church of the Brethren. He volunteered at Snyder Nursing Home and considered it his second home full of friends. The family would like to thank the Virginia Veterans Care Center, Lewis Gale Medical Center Stroke Team, ER and MICU, Carilion Hospice nurses for all their love and support. A Graveside Service will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at Cedar Lawn Memorial Park with Pastor Allen Lenker officiating. on February 28, 2021.⁴

     Mary Chandler Farmer was born on April 21, 1932 at Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.^1,2,3 As of November 29, 1952,her married name was Hite.² She married Robert Anderson Hite Jr. on November 29, 1952 at Floyd Co., Virginia.² Mary Chandler Farmer and Robert Anderson Hite Jr. were divorced on February 5, 1968 at Roanoke Co., Virginia.³ Mary Chandler Farmer married Roger Eugene Thompson on November 9, 1973 at Roanoke Co., Virginia.² As of November 9, 1973,her married name was Thompson.² Mary Chandler Farmer died on June 6, 1999 at age 67.¹