Tom, Louise & List: I have been following your discussion. Very interesting. Consider this: If John Jennings lived 12 to 15 miles North of Isabella Furnace, maybe the mistake was made in the name of the Furnace. Perhaps he was associated with ELIZABETH Furnace. Elizabeth Furnace is in Shenandoah County. It is located at the very base of the East side of Massanuttin mountain on state route 678. If you are not familiar with the area: To get to the furnace take Rt. 55 which connects Front Royal and Strasburg. Approximately halfway, at Waterlick, go South on state route 678. Rt. 678 follows the waters of Passage Creek. This road is one of the most scenic and beautiful places in the State of Virginia. The site is marked on the Virginia State Highway Map. Skip Louise, I believe John Jennings lived 12-15 miles north of Isabella Furnace. That would be too far away for working at the furnace. A man could walk perhaps 3 miles an hour and a horse 5 miles an hour, so the commute would be more than what is generally reasonable. The closest mine to Bentonville/Browntown that I am aware of was at Vaughn Summit in Page County, again too far for a reasonable commute. The information in the transcribed 1820 census saying he lived at Isabella Furnace is just a mistake.

Skip, Thanks for the question. Elizabeth Furnace was built in 1836, I think (maybe 1835 or 1837) so even though there was a pretty good path over the Massanutten at Milford, there was no furnace to go to. The mistake is in the transcription of the census. The person doing it must not have been familiar with Shenandoah County (or perhaps even Virginia) and assumed there were named districts like you see in some other states. So they took the designation of Isabella Furnace and continued it on page after page. They did the same thing for Pine Forge and possibly for Speedwell. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of the Fort Valley road. When I travel through Virginia, if I have an extra half hour, I try to drive at least part of it. It puts me in mind of what the Creator must have intended for us before we messed it up. Tom Skip wrote: >Tom, Louise & List: >I have been following your discussion. Very interesting. >Consider this: If John Jennings lived 12 to 15 miles North >of Isabella Furnace, maybe the mistake was made in the >name of the Furnace. Perhaps he was associated with >ELIZABETH Furnace. >Elizabeth Furnace is in Shenandoah County. It is located >at the very base of the East side of Massanuttin mountain >on state route 678. If you are not familiar with the area: To get >to the furnace take Rt. 55 which connects Front Royal and >Strasburg. Approximately halfway, at Waterlick, go South on >state route 678. Rt. 678 follows the waters of Passage Creek. >This road is one of the most scenic and beautiful places in the >State of Virginia. The site is marked on the Virginia State Highway >Map. >Skip > >Louise, >I believe John Jennings lived 12-15 miles north of Isabella Furnace. >That would be too far away for working at the furnace. A man could walk >perhaps 3 miles an hour and a horse 5 miles an hour, so the commute >would be more than what is generally reasonable. The closest mine to >Bentonville/Browntown that I am aware of was at Vaughn Summit in Page >County, again too far for a reasonable commute. The information in the >transcribed 1820 census saying he lived at Isabella Furnace is just a >mistake. > > >==== VASHENAN Mailing List ==== >Shenandoah Co VAGenWeb >http://www.rootsweb.com/~vashenan/vashenan.html > > > >