Alpha, I think you're mistaken in saying that the Quakers were the "first settlers in America and settled the land near Philadelphia". If they came to America in 1783, we were already an independent United States, having fought the Revolutionary War by then. Were the UNDERWOODs, from whom I descend, part of the Patrick CoVA settlements of Quakers? Carolyn HALE BRUCE Co-author, Rebel King, Hammer of the Scots and Rebel King, The Har'ships http://www.RebelKing.com Author, Virginiana, A Visitors' Guide to Virginia History and Other Stuff http://www.VirginianaBooks.com Available now at www.JonesArt.com: Herb Jones, Poet With a Paintbrush by Barbara Jones Jones ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alpha Hiatt" <famalpha@yahoo.com> To: <VAPATRIC-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 12:01 PM Subject: [VAPATRICK] PCGS to Present Program on The Quaker Churches of Patrick County The Patrick County Genealogy Society will present a program on The Quaker Churches of Patrick County in particularly The Friends Mission and Burk's Fork Meetings on Tuesday, March 21st at 6:30 p.m. at The Stuart Baptist Church Fellowship Hall on Blue Ridge Street in Stuart across from the historic Patrick County Courthouse. Anthony Lowe will be the guest speaker. The Quakers, escaping religious persecution, came from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales to Pennsylvania in 1783. They traveled The Great Wagon Road on their migration from Pennsylvania down through VA and into NC. One of the four routes the Quakers chose for migration, The Kanawha Road, passed through Patrick County. This led through rough mountainous country for most of the way. It crossed the Dan River, went by Patrick Court House, to Marberry's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, across Clinch Mountain, by the way of Packs Ferry on the New River, over White Oak Mountain to the falls of the Kanawha and down the river to the Ohio crossing at Gallipolis. There were two Quaker Meeting Houses in Patrick County-Friends Mission and Burk's Fork according to maps. The Quakers were the first settlers in America and settled the land near Philadelphia. The Quakers acquired land in western Patrick County for their Blue Ridge Mission in 1888. Acting on the request of Mr. Hillery Epperson, the NC Yearly Meeting of the Friends purchased an empty store on the lot where Blue Ridge School now stands to use for Sunday School and meeting. In September that year, "Friends Mission" was opened with Miss Mary Anderson and Miss Sarah Marshburn as the first teachers. By 1909, 53 students were teaching and six were preaching. Friends Mission operated until about 1918 when it came under the control of the Presbyterian Church. It was one of the earliest schools to offer secondary education in Patrick County. Among Patrick County Quaker surnames are: King, Smith, Jessup, and Hiatt. If your ancestors were Quakers, we invite you to attend this meeting and learn about genealogical resources to help you in your family tree search. Bring your family trees and pictures to share with us of your Quaker ancestry. This meeting is free and open to everyone. For more information, please call 276-692-5920. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ==== VAPATRIC Mailing List ==== Patrick County Historical Society http://www.patcovahistory.org/