April The Mansion stood along the north side of the Staunton (James) River. Closest thing to it now would be Altavista (Campbell Co VA) or Hurt (Pittsylvania Co VA). One of my great grandmothers married John Ward as his second wife and his first wife, Ann Chiles, is also related. As far as I can tell, there is a house near where it stood and I've tried to find the cemetery, without luck. I"ve been told that the Mansion burned, some time after John Ward died, and he was older than normal when he died. IF my dates are even close, he died between 110 and 113 years old. I know there were newspaper articles written at the time of "His very advanced" age. I know he died in 1816, and by several depositions, he claimed to have been born about 1703, which makes him 113. While not impossible, seems improbable. They say the cemetery remains, as does one for the "Pocket" farm, just across the river, owned at various times by Smith's, Haley's, Snow's and Jackson's. Raleigh Jackson sold the "Pocket" into various parts between 1920 and 1930. John Ward's Mansion house was just to the east of the Pocket. There is a road named "Mansion house Rd" now that runs by it and a home there, but as far as I know, not the original. The original home of the "Pocket Farm" a large brick mansion house, also burned in the 1920's. The old cemetery was said to have been in its front yard, yet the Snow/Jackson Cemetery is now located just opposite Pocket Rd (Pittsylvania Co) to where the highway department moved the Haley house in which Raliegh Jackson lived through 1930, when they rerouted old 29 to the new highway. IF you can find a good gazetteer, it should show Mansion House Rd and Mansion House Bridge, unless they've changed the names of late. I haven't been there for about 4 years. How or why are you looking for this building. I MAY Have an old picture or article about it with a drawing if I can locate it. Karen -----Original Message----- From: varoots-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:varoots-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of freedbyluvv Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 4:01 PM To: varoots@rootsweb.com Subject: [VAROOTS] searching for "The Mansion"---John Ward, 1820's Hello list, I am wondering if anyone here knows more about a historic home in Campbell Co., Va. previously owned by John Ward c.1820's. I am searching for any drawings/images of the place commonly known as "The Mansion" among then-locals. John Ward also owned hundreds of acres in neighboring Pittsylvania Co. Va. that he named Ward's Springs, a.k.a. Sulpher Springs. He also ran a place called Ward's Tavern on his land where the current town of Gretna now sits, a few miles north of Chatham. I am not sure which city "The Mansion" (as the home was called) in Campbell Co. was located, that is the obstacle I am facing trying to locate it. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide, or suggestions you can point me to. Thanks, April. --------------------------------- The fish are biting. Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to VAROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message