Smith HALE\Nancy DOUGLAS

Smith HALE, son of George HALE and Sarah SMITH , was born August 31,1765. He married Nancy DOUGLAS . Nancy DOUGLAS, daughter of William DOUGLAS and Elizabeth OFFUTT , .

Children of Smith HALE and Nancy DOUGLAS are:

1. Sarah S. HALE
2. Katherine HALE
3. Eliza HALE
4. Margaret D. HALE
5. Maria S. HALE
6. Jane H. HALE
7. Susanna Smith HALE
8. Lewis Douglas HALE
9. Antoinette HALE
10. Armistead HALE
11. Patrick Douglas HALE
12. George William HALE

Notes for Smith HALE:

Burial Spring Station

WILL OF SMITH HALE::::: To mt dearly beloved wife, Nancy Hale the use of
my estate both real & personal during her life for the purpose of
maintaining & educating my children....at her death, my son Lewis Douglas
Hale shall have all the land north of the Lexington road that I purshased
of Richard E. Beale, & a child's part of my personal & moveable property
with my daughters that are now single, Sarah S. Moffett, Margaret D.
Hale, Maria S. Hale, Jane H. Hale, Susanna S. Hale, Armistead C. Hale. I
leave all the land South of the Lexington
road that I bought of Richard Beale to be sold & the money divided
equally between all my daughters. I give & bequeath the fifty odd acres
of land that I swapped with Francis Jackson for, lying at the lower end
of the tract that I purchased of the Richard Eustace Beale, to my
daughter Antoinet C. Hale. Signed:::::Sept 18, 1813

Martinette Viley Witherspoon took notes from her mother--Catherine Janes
Martin Viley--as follows:::::::::Grandmother Hale (Nancy Douglas Hale)
was a large fleshy women with light hair & blue eyes. She always dressed
in bombazine with a long train & when she walked out in the grass, little
negroes followed & held up her dress. Grandfather Hale (Smith Hale) lived
high & was a rich man. He died before he spent all of his immense wealth.
Left it all to his wife to do with as she pleased. There was no rogues or
rascals in the family. Grandmother gave all her children nice homes,
negroes etc.--a good start in life. Grandmother was a member of the
Episcopalian Church & thought it was vulgar to be a Baptist (as several
of her children were). She owned the first & only carriage in all the
section where she lived & all the neighbors borrowed it, her two horses &
the driver when they went to Lrxington shopping, which journey they made
only twice a year. The carriage was lined with red leather & the border
was pinked & fastened around the top with brass headed tacks. It seated
four persons & the driver rode on one of the pairs of horses & had a
saddle to match the carriage. The carriage was swung high & had steps to
let down, had the big gooseneck springs out behind. Grandmother would go
with some of her daughters to Lexington & such loads & bolts of goods she
would bring home! In the summer she would always go to the springs (her
old Virginia habit I suppose) & would make these long journeys in her
carriage, would always take her maid & one little granddaughter, she said
she took one because she could manage one & make her behave. (( My mother
said she remembered when her time came & she went on her first wonderful
journey with her Grandmother; she had a good time but her grandmother
made her 'walk a chalk line', the maid had to dress grandmother & her.))

Smith Hale (spelled Heale in Va)::::::: "was regarded as one of the
wealthiest, as well as one of the most influential men in the county, as
he owned thirty-one slaves, who did services on his large estate. His
farm was near 'Spring Station', & he & his wife are buried there
privately. Smith hale always appeared in public with knee pants,
stockings, shoes with buckles, sweeping coat of the pigeon-tail variety,
colonial hat & hair in queue. One story is that when he had bills at the
end of the year, he would sell off a slave in Lexington, then his
son-in-law, Nathan Payne, would get him drunk, & then all his money would
be gone & he would have to sell another slave to settle his bill.
Catherine Jane Viley dictated this letter to a Mr. Wise, a few days
before she died in 1886:::::::: About the Smith Hale Spoliation Claim, I
know so little, would not attempt an answer were it not through courtesy
to you. I suppose it would come under the head of 'French Spoliation
Claims'. Smith Hale, my grandfather, & some other wealhty privite
individuals, fitted up some ships to be sent to help Lafayette in his
attempt to establish a Republic (like ours). It was during Washington's
presidency. The ships were destroyed by our government, if I understand
alright, & never reached France, & these men thought they ought to bo
indemnified for their loss. The bill passed through both houses many
times, & I think was signed by two presidents. Auther certainly did, just
before he went out of office.

Source:
Brenda Keasling Dobbelaere
Feb/o5/2004