When Susan Thomas married William Williams in 1854 in Prince William County, the minister had no official return forms, so he submitted his information in a letter format. He began his letter with the dateline "Falmouth Septr 12th 1854". I have not been able to find a city or town named Falmouth on any map of Prince William County. Does anyone know where Falmouth was located? I believe the Thomas family lived near Dumfries. Perhaps Falmouth was once a township which has since been swallowed up by urban sprawl. Any clues? Also, does the name of the minister - George W. Lightner - ring any bells? He identifies himself as a "Minister of the Gospel". Thank you. Shelley Hundertmark Brighton, Michigan

Hello, If I'm not mistaken, Falmouth was in Stafford County, Va. Anne ----- Original Message ----- From: Hundertmark <hundert@ismi.net> To: <VAPWILLI-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 10:33 AM Subject: [VAPWILLI-L] Falmouth and Rev. Lightner > When Susan Thomas married William Williams in 1854 in Prince William County, the minister had no official return forms, so he submitted his information in a letter format. He began his letter with the dateline "Falmouth Septr 12th 1854". I have not been able to find a city or town named Falmouth on any map of Prince William County. Does anyone know where Falmouth was located? I believe the Thomas family lived near Dumfries. Perhaps Falmouth was once a township which has since been swallowed up by urban sprawl. Any clues? > > Also, does the name of the minister - George W. Lightner - ring any bells? He identifies himself as a "Minister of the Gospel". > > Thank you. > > Shelley Hundertmark > Brighton, Michigan > > > ==== VAPWILLI Mailing List ==== > Search this list's archived messages! > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl >

I lived in Falmouth, VA for a number of years. From a postal point of view Falmouth, VA is part of Fredericksburg, VA. The Falmouth Station used to be zip code 22405 but I am not sure that is still true. I no longer live there. There is an old, burned out church, now only the brick front and steeple in near the US17 bridge in Falmouth. It has a sizeable cemetery behind it. I believe it was a Baptist church but I am not sure. There is also, Falmouth Baptist Church, across the street. You may want to contact any or all of the following concerning this man: the church mentioned above, Fredericksburg Historical Society, Stafford & Fredericksburg's Genealogical Societies ( I am pretty sure Fred. has one but not so sure of Stafford), the FreeLance Star Newspaper (has been around a long time and may have something in the morgue if they are willing to look--they also have a weekend feature on local history w/photos--that writer would probably be the one you want), Mary Washington College-history department, U.S.Park Service-Fredericksburg Battlefield (they may know of old churches in Falmouth. Chatham (an old estate near where I lived is in reality is in Falmouth and was used as Union Hdqrs. and to shell Fred.-they might have an interest due to clergy for the Union Soldiers camped in Falmouth, some of whom camped in what became my back yard.)) AND I would write to EVERY clergyman you can find listed in the Fredericksburg and Falmouth area phone directories. It is a very historical area and you may find a preacher with a bend toward the history Pre-Civil-War clergy. Oh, and one more, BE SURE and contact: First Baptist Church Fredericksburg and Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church. Both buildings and congregations predate the Civil War. I seem to remember seeing the name Lightner somewhere. A few calls to the two churches listed might pay off. Both have plaques in front and inside as does Aquia Episcopal in Stafford. One of these plaques may be where I saw the name. You might also want to contact the Rector of Aquia. It dates to colonial days and has most if not all their ministers buried in the cemetery.