THE DUFF MANSION HOUSE - Word DUFF MANSION HOUSE.pdf · 5/2/2017  · Mansion House is as follows:...

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THEDUFFMANSIONHOUSEADDENDUMTOMYESSAYON

SCOTT’SSTATION

CopyrightandallRightsReservedLawrenceJ.Fleenor,Jr.BigStoneGap,Va.May2,2017

Areviewof thehistoryof the“DuffMansionHouse”and land is that itwasoriginally part of the series of land grantsmade to Archibald Scott and his wife,Fannie, in1783. Scott had settled inElkGarden, andFanniewas among the firstsettlersofCastlewoodin1769,beingthesisterofHumphreyandHenryDickenson,Jr. HerbrotherHenryhadbeenkilledbyIndiansin1778-1779asheattemptedtowadeGist’sFordatUpperCastlewood,andwherehehadcrawleduponarock inthemiddleof theriverafterhavingbeenshot,andwherehedied (1&2). ArchibaldandFanniereceivedlandgrantstotalingalittleover1000acreslocatedattheheadofWallen’sCreekinLeeCounty.OntheeveningofJune29,1785awarpartyledbyChiefBobBengeknockeddowntheirdoor,shotArchibaldasheattemptedtogetoutofbed,killedtheScottchildren,andcarriedFannieoff intocaptivity. SheescapedandreturnedtothesettlementsonAugustthe11th. Intheinterludeshemayhavebeendeclareddead,asthelandpassedtoArchibald’sbrother,James,whowaslistedas Archibald’s “heir-at-law”. Fannie refused to return to the land at the head ofWallen’s Creek. James Scott sold the land to a ‘Thomas Johnson’ for 220Pounds.What relationship the man or may not have had to the ‘Thomas Johnson’ whobecameFannie’ssecondhusbandisunknown,asthepurchaseroftheScottlandislisted in the deed as having awife named “Susannah”. Thomas Johnson sold theScottlandtoRobertDuff,whosewifewasMary“Polly”PowellDickenson,whowasthe daughter of Henry Dickenson, Jr. (3). Hermother’s father had been AmbrosePowell,whowasamemberoftheDr.ThomasWalkerExpedition,andforwhomthePowellRiverwasnamed.AmbrosewasalsothegrandfatherofConfederateGeneralAmbrose Powell (A. P.) Hill. Fannie’s second husband, Thomas Johnson, foundedJohnsonCounty,Tennessee. RobertandPollyhadtenchildren,eachofwhominheritedabout110acresattheheadofWallen’s Creek from their parents (4). The line of descent to theDuffMansionHouse is as follows: RobertDuff toWilliamP.Duff toWilliamF.Duff toWilliamPowellDuff to“Joe” JosephNewlandDuff (1869-1962)*,whowas the lastDuffowneroftheMansionHouse,andwhosoldittoFredSteelofTazewell,Virginia,inthesameseriesofsalesoftheentireArchibaldandFannieestatebeginningabout1917. Eunice Laster’s family through the female line of ‘Fields’ had worked astenant farmers for theDuffs,andas theLastershadhiredonwithMr.Steelashistenant farmer, theywereshownaround theDuffMansionhouseasMr.Steel tookpossession.ItwasJoethatshowedEunice’smotherthesecretcompartmentinthe

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drawermentionedbelow(5). Bales(4)confirmsthatJoewasthelastDufftoliveintheMansionHouse.

THEDUFFMANSIONHOUSEAFTERTHESTEELMODIFICATIONSNOTETHEBRIDGEACROSSTHEHIGHWAYTOTHEBARN

Averyinterestingsetofcircumstancessurroundsanotherpersonconnectedto the Duff Mansion House. William Powell Duff, by his second wife, had a sonnamedRobertCecilDuff,whomarriedMarthaTompkins(6). TheTompkinsfamilyhadacquiredaBlack ‘Mammy’named‘MammyEase’,whichwasshortfor ‘Easter’.About1884 theTompkins familywas livingnearGadsden,Alabama,whenoneofthematriarchsofthatfamilywassittingonherporchwhenshesawawagonwith‘AuntMandy’andhermulattochildrencomingdownthestreet.Thematriarchsentheryoungerbrother,Will,outtostopthewagonandtotellAuntMandythat,“Sisterwouldlikeoneofyourchildrentocomeandworkforher”.AuntMandysaid,“Sure.Tellyoursistershecanhavethis’un,andhaveherEaster”.MammyEasewasabout6 at the time. Her real first namehas long sincebeen lost, but her surnamewas‘Tank’. Easterwas taken in and raised by the Tompkins family, and helped raisetheir children. After thedeathof theelderTompkins,Easemovedaroundamongthehomesoftheirchildren,helpingraisethegrandchildren.ItwasinthiscapacitythatshecameintotheDufffamilyviaRobertCecilDuffandwifeMarthaTompkinsDuff.CecilandJosephDuffwere,therefore,cousins.TheDufffamilywasveryclose.MammyEasecametoliveforawhilewiththefamilyofJosephintheDuffMansion

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House. EuniceLaster’s fathermetherseveral times there. Herecalledseeing the‘Tompkins girls’ (theymust have been Cecil Duff’s daughters) riding their horsesacrossthefarmstandingintheirsaddles(5).

Back to my invitation to come down, the house had been abandoned forseveralyears. Groundhogshadeatenupsomeof the floors. Awindowhadbeenshot out, and the house had been broken into and used for illicit parties. Anextensiveremodelingofthefronthadbeendone.Theoriginalbackporchhadbeenenclosed and converted into a bathroom and another large room. We have nopictureofthehouseinitstotallyoriginalcondition.Thehousehadpassedoutofthe

MAMMYEASTERWITHSOMEOFTHETOMPKINSCHILDREN

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family,andtheLastershadjustrepurchasedit.TheyhavenoconcreteplansfortheDuffMansionHouseatthistime.

ADUFFFAMILYATTHEMANSIONHOUSENOTETHESTILEINTHELEFTFOREGROUNDUSEDBYELDERLYMENOFWOMENINSKIRTS

TOMOUNTAHORSE AnanalysisofthestructureitselfrevealsaframedwellingbuiltintheGreekRevivalpattern.Ithasahippedroof.Insteadofcolumnsonthefrontithadframedlatticefrontupperandlowerporches.Thewallsaretoothinforanyofthemtohavelogsintheinterior.Thereforethehouseistotallysawedframe.Wherevisible,theinteriorof thepartitionsaremillsawed2X4’s. Theplaster is intwobatches. Theoldestisappliedtosplitoaksplines,andcoveredwithplastercontaininghorsehair.Extensivenewerplasterisappliedtowoodensawedlaths. Ithasspaciousbuilt-inchifferobesinthreeofthebedrooms.Anotherchifferobeisbuiltinthelivingroom,withtinpunchdesign insomeof thepanelsandglasspanes insomeof thedoors.Oneofthedrawershasasecretcompartmentintheback. Thereisabuilt-inflourbin in the kitchen that is filled from the floor above, and easily held a ton offlour/meal.Itwasaccessedfromthekitchenclosetviaacranksifter.Ithasaspiralstaircasebuiltintoacorner.Ithasaspringhousebuiltintothebackofthekitchen,fed via gravity by a pipe from a spring higher up on the mountain and whoselocationisspecifiedinthedeedsurveys.Thisfeatureisknowntohavebeenbuiltby

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Steel. Inthedaysbeforepipewasavailable,waterwascarried inabucket fromaspring locatednear themodernmilkingbarnbuilt in thehollow to the east. Thehousewasheatedby four fireplaces. Theoldestnails I could findwere the latestvariety ofmachine cut nailsmade just beforewire nails became available. Theywerehammeredtohaveasquarelippedhead.Theinternaldoorsallmatch,andarefactorymade.Theymaynotbetheoriginals.Thewholestructurerestsonsplitlogsills. Under thesoutheast corner isa cellar thathasboth its sidesand floor linedwithbrick.Behindthewesterncornerstandstheoldsmokehouse.Madefromlogsfastenedbyhalf dovetail joints, andwith the outside surface smoothedbyhavingbeendressedbyeitherbroadaxesorbyanadz,theinteriorhasmassiveshelvesforsaltpackinghams. Theoriginalhouse is tworoomswide, and tworooms lengthways,withanopenstairwayandaspacioushallroominthemiddle. Theoriginalupstairs frontporchhadwindowsand/orscreens,andwasa‘sleepingporch’.Thelefthandoftherearwasanopenroofed two-storyporch. Theoriginalconfigurationof therightrearcontainsakitchenabovewhichwerethelivingquartersfortheslavecook.Herquarterswereaccessedbyatightspiralstaircase.Thediningroomisbetweenthekitchen and the living room, which is in the right front right of the house, andconnectedtotheaddedkitchenbybothadoorandapass-throughshelvedcabinet.Totherearofthekitchenwasaspringhousewithabuilt-inconcretewatertroughtohold crocksof dairyproducts. In later years, perhaps the Steel configuration, thespringwaterwaspipedinfromseveralhundredyardsupthemountain. AftertheSteelsboughttheproperty,Mr.Steelenclosedtherearporches,andaddedanupstairsroom.Itisnotobviouswhatpurposetheenclosedupstairsporchserved. He enclosed the lower left rear of the porch as a bathroom. The sewermainlined into the creek. Prior to that, the toilet facilities consisted of a ‘Johnny’builtoverthecreek.

Insummary,thehouseishardtodateduetoitsmanyalterationsthroughtheyears. However, the style ispretty specific in this area for theyears surrounding1840plusorminus ten years. This tends tobe confirmedby the style of the cutnailsused,andbythehorsehairplasterandsplitsplines. TheSteelmodificationsweremadeabout1918whenSteelboughttheproperty.Thewoodenlathsareamixof split splinesandmachinesawed. Thecurrentplaster isamixoforiginalquicklime/horsehir, andgypsumdonebySteel. Thedoorsand their locksareof theSteelera.Theexteriorsidingisheldinplacebymostlythemachinecutnails,whichhadbeenhandheaded,plusrepairworkdonewithmodernwirenails. InsummaryRobertDuffwasborninBelfast,CountyAntrim,Ulster, IrelandJune 23, 1759 and died by suicide June 20, 1820 in Lee County, Virginia, UnitedStates. He isburied in theDuffCemetery inStickleyville,LeeCounty,Virginia.Hegothis first landgrant inWallen’sCreekValley in1789. TheLastershaveadeedwith the metes and bounds of this property giving ownership of it to Robert’swidow,Polly,anditspecifiesthatitisthe“mansionhouse”.

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This reference to “mansion house” existing on this property at the time ofRobert Duff’s death presents a couple of problems. First of all, such a houseprobablycouldnothavebeenbuiltinthisregionintheperiod1798-1820.Machinesawedlumberdidnotexisthereduringthattimeperiod.ThecutnailsthatIfoundwere not of this period, but indicate the period compatiblewith the architecturalstyle ie.1840plusofminus10years. Thehalfdovetail jointsof thesmokehousecannotgobackbefore1820morethanacoupleofyears.Constructionpriortothattimewasdoneutilizingthe‘V’notch.Allthissuggeststotheauthorthattherewasan older “mansion house” standing on this property before the existing structurewasbuiltabout1840.Therearetwogeneralsuitablesitesonthistractofland.Thefirstpossiblesiteisacoupleofflatsneartheupperspring,wherethespringhouseislocated.Theseflatsarewithinahundredyardsofthebestspringinthissectiononthevalley.Whenplowedlotsofworkedflintisturnedup,indicatingthattherehadbeenan Indianvillagehere. Thepioneers frequently justmoved inonold Indianvillages, and built their homes. The second possible site for an earlier mansionhouseisthesiteofthecurrentone.Eunicepointsoutthatthesplitlogsleepersusedforthepresenthousecouldhavebeenusedforanearlierone.Iftheearliermansionhouse had been on the site of the present one, that circumstance would haverequired the family to have lived somewhere elsewhile the old housewas beingreplaced. The next issue is that therewas an older Duff home built between Scott’sStation and Scott’s Branch, and whose owners (Tankersleys), and Eunice Laster,identifyastheoriginalhomeoftheDuffs. Itwasaweatherboardedtwo-storyloghome,andwasineverywayperiodcompatible. Followingthedeedtransfersthis loghomewasfirstownedbyRobertDuff,Sr.,andthenwenttohisandPolly’ssonWilliamP.,andthentohissonWilliamF.Duff. A construction date of about 1840 could suggest that the currentmansionhousewasbuiltbyeitherWilliamP.orWilliamF. Fred Steel bought all of the Duff / Scott property in 1918. He lived inTazewell,Virginia,andhedidextensiveremodelingoftheframehouse.Hecametovisithisfarmforshortperiodsandlivedinthishouse.Heistheonethatenclosedthebackporchandmadetheindoorbathroom.Hemayhavebeenresponsibleforthelathplasteringandthefactorymadeinternaldoors. Eunice’s father, Hal Laster, managed the 1600 acre farm for Steel for 14+years.Steelsoldthefarmintractsin1948atwhichtimeHalLasterboughttheDuffMansionHouseand283acres.Eunicelivedinthehousewithhisparentsfromage11untilhemarriedin1964. Hisparentslivedthereuntilthedeathofhismother,CallieLaster, in1984.TheLasterchildrensoldtheir interest inthehousetoDexalLasterGreerwhoownedthehomeuntiltheearly2000’s.Thehousewaslatersold,buttheownerneverresidedthereormadeanyimprovements.Thisleftabouta25year gap during which someone else managed the farm and lived in the frame

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house. Eunice andMary Ruth built a house on the farmland in 1974 about twohundredyardstothenorthwest.

TheLastersnotethatanearlyDuffhomewasbuiltoflogsattheheadwatersofWallen’sCreeknear the footofKaneGap.ThishouseburnedwhenHubertandBeulahLawson,Eunice’sfirstcousin,werelivingthere.ThesurveysoftheoriginalScottgrantsreferenceonlythreespringsontheentire1,000acres–oneatScott’sStation,theoneattheIndianfieldsabovethecurrentmansionhouse,andtheoneattheheadofWallen’sCreek.TheDufffamilybuilthousesateachofthesesprings. Therefore, it seems to have been established that the Duff’s first home onWallen’sCreekwastheloghouseatScott’sStation.TheygavethishometotheirsonRobertafterhavingmovedtoahomeonthetractoflandofthepresentframehome.Thedeedreferencingthistractascontainingthe“mansionhouse”doesnotspecifywhere on the tract this house was located. Either there was an earliermansionhouseonthe tract,or theestimateontheageof thepresent framehome isoffbyaboutaquarterofacentury. Whichofthesehouseswasreferredtoas“Duffield”isunknown.TheSA&ORRnamedtheirdepotatLittleFlatLickafterthisvenerablelocallandmark.

The Lasters say that during Steel’s renovations the bones of a baby werefoundwrappedinasaddleblanketandburiedinthedownstairsbedroomfireplacehearth.Itwascoveredbackup,andconcretedin.

“JOE”JOSEPHNEWLANDDUFFTHELASTDUFFTOLIVEINTHEMANSIONHOUSE

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The upstairs porch, or the ‘sleeping porch’, has been converted into asunroomenteredfromtheupstairshallway.Theoriginalarrangementwastheoldtimer’s answer to trying to sleep at night in the absence of air conditioning. Thenocturnalinsectsdidnotgetthathighoffoftheground.

THEDUFFFRAMEHOUSEON5-2-17AFTERTHEREMODLINGOFTHEFRONT The cabin built on the hill near the present Eunice andMary Ruth LasterhousewasbuiltfromlogsfromtheMansionHousebarn,whichwasacrosstheroadfromtheMansionhouse,andaccessedbythefootbridgeshowninthephotographonpage#2.

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THEDUFFMANSIONHOUSESPRINGBOX

*-ThisgenealogyisconfirmedbyasuccessionofdeedsdocumentingthelegallineoftransferoftheDuffMansionHouse,collatedbyEuniceLaster,presentowneroftheDuffMansionHouse, and reviewed by the author, and found to be accuratelyinterpreted. The oft quoted Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and AdjacentCounties vol. II by Hattie Muncy Bales has a slightly different line, with thedifferencebeingthatthe“F”recordedinthedeedasthemiddleinitialofthesecondWilliamisgivenas“P”,thusleavingoutageneration.BalesadmittedconfusionoverthechildrenofthefirstWilliamPowellDuff. The satellite photograph below is taken fromGoogle Earth, and shows theproperty under discussion. Using the highway number 612 as a reference point,looktoitseastandseethedarkenedoutlineoftheoldgrownuproadthatrunsfirstto thenortheast to a placebetween the spring and theold IndianField, and thenturnstothenorthwest.Atonepointintimeitwasfencedonbothsides,turningitinto a lane. It used to access the head of the hollownow served by Todd LasterDrive, includingat least twotenanthouses. TheauthorbelievesthatareasonablesitefortheoriginalDuffMansionHousecouldhavebeenneartheangleinthatroad,betweenthespringandtheIndianField,nowacornfield(5).

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Bibliography: Thisentireworkisafunctionaladdendumtomyessayof2001documentingthesiteofthemurderofArchibaldScottandhischildren,currentlyavailableathttp://www.bigstonegappublishing.com/SCOTTS%20STATION.pdf1-Fleenor,LawrenceJ.–“Moore’sFort”inthe“AppalachianQuarterly”2–Hamilton,Emory–“TheKillingofHumphreyDickenson”http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~varussel/indian/28.html3–genealogyPollyDuffhttps://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Duff/60000000084165160414 – Bales, Hattie Muncy – Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and AdjacentCountiesvol.25 – Eunice Laster directly to the author, supported by a series of deed copiessubstantiatingthelineageandrelationshipsingeneral–EunicelatergrewupintheMansionHouse,andisnowitsownerandrestorer.6–connectionbetweentheTompkinsfamilyandtheDuffshttps://books.google.com/books?id=c1hlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA276&lpg=PA276&dq=Cecil+Harold+Duff&source=bl&ots=3VQ6lbW61N&sig=i9QkAVs9-r-dLNzPm0WdJBTe1fA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi087aK_u_UAhVr0oMKHT8vDPQQ6AEIKjAB#v=onepage&q=Cecil%20Harold%20Duff&f=false

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