John Chiswell

Colonel John Chiswell (born about 1710, died by suicide October 14, 1766), was a noted plantation owner, member of the Colonial House of Burgesses, and a land speculator in colonial Virginia.

Early life and marriage

His father was Charles Chiswell (born about 1678) and Esther (Dabney?) Chiswell. Charles Chiswell was once Clerk of the General Court of Virginia.^[1] He married Elizabeth Randolph, daughter of William Randolph, on May 19, 1736, and they had four children: Elizabeth Chiswell, b. 24 May 1737; Susanna Randolph Chiswell, b. 1740, Williamsburg, VA; Mary Chiswell, b. About 1748, Hanover Co., VA; Lucy Chiswell, born 3 Aug 1752. His wife died in 1766: "Mrs. ELIZABETH CHISWELL, relict of the late col. John Chiswell, at William Nelson, esqr's, in Caroline. She died in her 54th year, and was a most amiable lady: From her door, the needy were never sent empty away."^[2]

Lead mines

In 1752, he operated an iron furnace near Fredericksburg, Virginia. John Chiswell discovered lead outcroppings in 1756 in Wythe County, Virginia. This was operated by the Lead Mine Company, which was later involved in the John Robinson estate scandal. After Virginia declared its independence, the mines were operated by the state, and became an important lead supplier for the patriot cause.

The mines were so significant, that they became a landmark and part of a treaty in 1768 to establish the lands of Great Britain and the Native Americans in the Treaty of Hard Labour and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. "..the treaty at Fort Stanwix, John Stuart on behalf of Great Britain had negotiated with the Cherokee tribe the treaty of Hard Labor, South Carolina, October 14, by which the boundary line was continued direct from Tryon Mountain to Colonel Chiswell's mine (present Wytheville, Virginia), and thence in a straight line to the mouth of the Great Kanawha."^[3]

Political life

John Chiswell was elected as a burgess from Hanover county from 1744 to 1755, when he moved to Williamsburg and represented the city from 1756 to 1758. He was closely aligned by marriage and family with many of the landed gentry and upper classes of Virginia.

Fort Chiswell

A fort was established in 1758 by William Byrd and named for Colonel John Chiswell. It was used during the French and Indian War, but was later abandoned. The Fort Chiswell Site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Suicide

In 1766, Colonel Chiswell got into an argument with "...a Scotch gentleman" named Robert Routledge in Cumberland county, Virginia. Colonel Chiswell called Routledge "a fugitive rebel, a villain who came to Virginia to cheat and defraud men of their property, and a Presbyterian fellow…"^[4] Both men were intoxicated, and when he was frustrated in attacking Mr. Routledge with a punch bowl or candlestick, called for his sword and when Mr. Routledge refused to leave the room, killed him by stabbing him with his sword. There was some scandal in giving Colonel Chiswell special treatment, including not holding him in a jail cell. He is thought to have committed suicide at his home in Williamsburg, Virginia, although the coroner stated it was an attack from nerves.^[5]

His son-in-law, John Robinson (Virginia), was both the Speaker and Treasurer of Virginia, and died only a few months before in May 1766, and he owed the Commonwealth of Virginia over £1,000,000.

Because it is uncertain if he committed suicide, he was denied burial at Bruton Parish Church. His body was taken to his home at Scotchtown (plantation). When the wagon containing his coffin arrived, members of the murdered Robert Routledge family were there, and demanded that the coffin be opened so they could be sure he was dead, and the death was not a hoax.^[6] His grave is unmarked.

Legacy

• Fort Chiswell, Virginia is named in his honor.
• Chiswell-Bucktrout House on Francis Street in Williamsburg, Virginia, still stands.

References

Bibliography

• Kegley, Mary B. 2010. "Fort Chiswell and Chiswell's Lead Mines of Wythe County, Virginia: A New Perspective". Smithfield Review: Studies in the History of the Region West of the Blue Ridge. 14: 52-68.
• Lemay, J. A. Leo. Robert Bolling and the Bailment of Colonel Chriswell. [Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified], 1971. (In Early American literature--Vol. 6, no. 2 (Fall 1971)).
• Shephard, William Hendy. Colonel John Chiswell, Chiswell's Lead Mines, Fort Chiswell. 1936.
• Trotti, Michael Ayers. 2008. "The Origins of Virginia Crime Sensationalism". Abstract: This chapter describes how, over the next three months, the Virginia Gazette published fifteen articles on the Chiswell case, some anonymous, others pseudonymous, still others penned above the names of some of the most prominent Virginians of the era, including the colony's most influential lawyer, George Wythe, and a leading member of the House of Burgesses, John Blair. In all, the Virginia Gazette printed slightly more than six pages on this case over the course of four-and-a-half months, or about one-quarter of a page in each issue. In volume, the coverage was significant, particularly for this era; in tone, it was moderate, even tentative. In October, this flurry of activity ended when John Chiswell died of “nervous fits, owing to a constant uneasiness of mind” shortly before he was to go to trial.
• Virginia Gazette October 17, 1766.