Seeking Henry BUCK (b.9/20/1809 in Richmond, Henrico County, Virginia) to Martin BUCK and Mary SMITH. Does anyone know how far back Henrico Co, VA birth records extend or where to get copies? Does anyone have access to these records who might do a lookup? I am a few hours by car from Richmond. If I were to make a daytrip to Richmond to do research, where should I start? The following has information on the Bucks. Thanks, Greg Bender ================================================== Henry Buck son of Martin Buck and Mary Smith Generation No. 1 1. MARTIN BUCK[1] was born Bet. 1765 - 1770 in Germany[2], and died Abt. June 9, 1854 in Madison County, Indiana[3]. He married MARY SMITH[4] December 31, 1797 in Rockingham County, Virginia[4]. She was born 1773 in Pennsylvania[5], and died Aft. 1850 in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana[5]. Notes for MARTIN BUCK: Settled near Natural Bridge of Virginia Marriage Notes for MARTIN BUCK and MARY SMITH: In "Rockingham County Marriages 1778-1850", by Vogt & Kethley, p. 58 Buck, M. & Mary Smith ---1798; bondsman- John Neinerich, dau. of John Buck, Martin & Mary Smith 28 Jan 1798; bondsman Christopher Schmidt; dau. of Christopher minister- Daniel Huffman Children of MARTIN BUCK and MARY SMITH are: 2. i. HENRY BUCK, b. September 20, 1809, Richmond, Virginia; d. April 8, 1867, Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana. 3. ii. MICHAEL BUCK, b. 1807, North Carolina; d. Aft. 1850. iii. POLLY BUCK, b. Bef. 1815. Generation No. 2 2. HENRY BUCK (MARTIN) [9,10,11] was born September 20, 1809 in Richmond, Virginia[12,13,14], and died April 8, 1867 in Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana[15,16,17]. He married (1) JEMIMA CHAMNESS18,19,20, daughter of WILLIAM CHAMNESS and MARY BRAY. She was born February 5, 1825 in Wayne County, Indiana [21,22], and died Bet. September 25 - 26, 1905 in Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana[23,24]. He married (1) MARTHA JANE EDWARDS [25,26] possibly January 1, 1831 in Preble County, Ohio [27]. She was born February 6, 1813 in Indiana [27], and died Bet. 1846 - 1850 in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana[27]. Notes for HENRY BUCK: > Family tradition said he left home because his father was cruel to him and his opposition to slavery. He eventually settled near Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana > Father, Martin, later gave up his slaves and moved to Madison County, Indiana near his son Henry. More About HENRY BUCK: 1830 Census: 1830, Not listed as Head of Household in Indiana 1840 Census: 1840, Madison County, Indiana P.185 1850 Census: 1850, Near Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana 1860 Census: 1860, Near Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana Page 137 Line 11A Family 964 Dwelling 96428 Burial: 1867, Chaplin Cemetery #53, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana30 More About JEMIMA CHAMNESS: Burial: 1905, Chaplin Cemetery #53, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana33 More About MARTHA JANE EDWARDS: Ancestral File #: BWQ3-F434 Children of HENRY BUCK and JEMIMA CHAMNESS are: i. JOHN M. (M. may stand for MARTIN) BUCK[35,36,37], b. June 2, 1853, Near Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana[38,39,40]; d. May 9, 1909, Bluffton, Indiana[41,42]; m. CAROLINE PUGH[43,44], September 13, 1880, Delaware County, Indiana (probably Muncie)[45]; b. May 5, 1858, Possibly Howard or Madison County, IN[46,47]; d. January 9, 1939, at daughter's house in Angola, Steuben County, Indiana[48,49]. Notes for JOHN M. BUCK: JOHN M. BUCK This prominent manufacturer and head of one of one of Bluffton's leading industrial enterprises is a native of Indiana, born at Alexandria, Madison county, on the 2d day of June, 1853. His father, Henry Buck, formerly a land owner and farmer of the above county, was of German descent, and the mother, whose maiden name was Jemima Chamness, comes from a long line of Quaker ancestors. For many years Henry Buck was not only one of the leading agriculturists of Madison county, but also achieved prominence as a local politician of the Republican party, having been one of the first men in his part of the state openly to avow and defend what was then the political heresy of abolitionism. He acquired some property, was twice married, and departed this life in the year 1867. His second wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch is still living (note: this biographical sketch was written in 1903). John M. Buck was the oldest of the children born to his father's second marriage. He was reared to maturity in close touch with nature and as a farm hand early learned by experience the true meaning of honest toil. His means for acquiring an education were such as a few months' attendance each year at the public schools afforded, consequently, he was not a learned man in the sense of the term as generally understood, although possessing a fund of valuable practical knowledge such as schools and colleges do not impart. Young Buck assisted in cultivating the home farm until his twenty-fourth year, when he started into the world for himself, first directing his attention to buying and selling lumber and later taking up the trade of wood turning. He started, in 1890, a small establishment of his own in the town of Geneva. He spent about five years at the above place, when he found it necessary to secure a more favorable location, consequently he moved his establishment to the city of Bluffton. Since moving to the latter place in 1895, Mr. Buck has built up an extensive business and, as stated in the initial paragraph, the enterprise has become on of the largest and most important of the city's industries. In addition to the plant at Bluffton, which gives employment to about twenty-five men and from three to five teams every working day of the year, he operates a branch factory at Auburn, this state, which, under his direction, has steadily increased its output and grown in public favor. Mr. Buck manufactures wooden tool handles. His weekly payroll at Bluffton alone will average about two hundred and fifty dollars, in addition to which he pays every week to the farmers in the vicinity who furnish him, very satisfactorily, with raw material the sum of four hundred dollars. Mr. Buck began manufacturing in a very small way and the large measure of success which has attended him is due entirely to his own energy, superior management and wise business foresight. At the outset, he encountered many difficulties and numerous obstacles calculated to impede and discourage, but with an inborn determination which hesitated at none of these impediments to his progress, he persevered, gradually removing everything in his pathway and gaining favor until he found himself upon a well established basis which made ultimate success a certainty. That he has achieved his aim is abundantly attested by the place his plant occupies among the industries of Bluffton, in the business circles of the city and throughout the state. The constantly increasing demands for his products necessitates the running of his several establishments at their full capacity, and , judging by present prospects, their enlargement or the building of additional plants is only a matter of time. Few men in Wells county stand higher in the esteem of their fellow citizens than Mr. Buck and none have better records for energy, honesty and sterling integrity. He is a man of actions rather than words, attends strictly to his own affairs, at the same time being not unmindful of the duty which every citizen owes to the public. He is essentially a business man and as such ranks with the most enterprising and progressive of his contemporaries, deserving of great credit for what he has done for this city in the way of giving employment to labor and providing a good market for the farmers with timber to dispose of. Mr. Buck supports the Republican party, but aside from voting for the regular nominees, takes little interest in political matters, having no ambition to gratify in the way of public distinction or official honors. He owns a beautiful and attractive home on the corner of Wabash and Market streets, where he welcomes and entertains his friends with a genuine hospitality. Mr. Buck was married in 1880 to Miss Caroline Pugh of Alexandria, Madison county, this state, a union blessed with three children: Roland C., the eldest, was born on the 20th day of June 1881, served with Company M, Twenty-eighth Regiment, United States Infantry, in the Philippines, and was shot and killed from ambush by native robbers on July 13, 1902; Clyde, the second of the family, was born December 7, 1883; Alline, the youngest, is a student in the Bluffton high school. Mrs. Buck is a member of the Methodist church and well known in the best social circles of the city. While not identified with any religious organization himself, Mr. Buck believes in the church as a great moral force among men and is liberal in his contributions to its support. Taken from pages 334-335 of the Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, 1903.