Last week we finished the story of “Soldier John Grigsby” great-grandfather of Confederate Brigadier General Elisha “Bull” Paxton, son of Elisha and Margaret (McNutt) Paxton. If you remember, Margaret was a first cousin to Ann Glasgow, who along with her husband, Joseph, settled near Tranquility in Adams County in 1806. Margaret (McNutt) Paxton was the daughter of Alexander (1754-1812) and Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt. Now if you have that straight, that leads us back to “Soldier John Grigsby” who was the father of Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt.
Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt was born May 7, 1771, in Culpepper County, Virginia. She spent her childhood years growing up on her parent’s plantation “Fruit Hill Farm” in Rockbridge County, Virginia. A picture of the home appeared with our article in last week’s paper. Rachel was 5 feet 8 inches tall, with gray eyes, flaxen hair and a fair complexion. On Jan. 7, 1788, at the age of seventeen, Rachel married Alexander McNutt. Rev. Sam Houston performed the ceremony at the home of her parents. Alexander was born Dec. 10 1754, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Alexander was seventeen years her senior.
Alexander (Alexander was Ann Glasgow’s uncle) was the son of John “Scotch Johnny” McNutt and Katherine Rebecca Anderson. (We talked about “Scotch Johnny” in one of our earlier stories and we will again in upcoming stories.) (We will also talk about his wife Katherine Anderson as her brother’s grandson owned Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. This factory was the only factory in the South during the Civil War that had the large capacity to turn out cannons, steam engines and munitions. This factory was very important to the war effort of the Confederacy.)
Alexander served in the Rockbridge County Virginia Militia (Gilmore Rifles) during the Revolutionary War having fought at the Battle of Cowpens.(We shared a story concerning the “Battle of Cowpens” last year. It was in this battle that Alexander’s brother and brother-in-law both died.) In 1780, Alexander was made a Sergeant under Capt. James Gilmore and Brig. Gen Daniel Morgan in South Carolina. Alexander was a planter, slaveholder and a Presbyterian. He had extensive property on the North River located seven miles east of Lexington where his family resided. A portion of this land was granted by the Commonwealth to his father, John McNutt in 1768. The location is situated a mile west of the town of Buena Vista.
Alexander and Rachel were the parents of 13 children, six boys and 7 girls. Their daughters were beautiful and their sons tall, handsome and intelligent. They were all industrious, of high moral character and brought much honor to their parents.
Alexander is listed as member #43 on the Falling Spring Church register, right below #42 “Soldier” John Grigsby. Alexander had pew #24 and pledged 6 pounds before 1794.
Alexander and Rachel had been married 24 years when Alexander died March 29, 1812, of pneumonia at the age of 57. Rachel was six months pregnant at the time of Alexander’s death. Alexander is buried in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial cemetery in Lexington, Virginia.
Rachel, a woman of unusual ability and character, left a widow with 12 children and one on the way, nourished, cared for and ensured that all her children received the highest level of education possible. Next week we will explore the lives of her children and their attributes.