Date:  ca. 1900

Image Number:  B01_RollOneNeg2A

Comments:  Peter Valentine Foland was born on January 22, 1845, in Virginia; he was the son of Valentine Foland (1810-1893) and Frances Ann Jefferson (1820-1860).  His mother, Frances, was the only daughter of Peter Field Jefferson and granddaughter of Randolph Jefferson, who lived at Snowden across the horseshoe bend of the James River from Scottsville.  At the time of Peter Valentine Foland's birth in 1845, his parents had left Scottsville and moved to Jefferson County, Tennessee.  But Peter Valentine Foland's grandfather, Peter Field Jefferson, generously provided handsomely for his grandson in his 1854 will. 

Occasionally, my ramblings take me outside the boundaries of Buckingham County following a Buckingham connection.  Such was the case with Peter Valentine Foland, great-grandson of Randolph Jefferson, who spent his life living at Snowden at the Horseshoe Bend of the James River.  Randolph's son, Peter Field Jefferson, was born at Snowden but spent his adult years living at Scottsville, owning various businesses, including the ferry which ran from Scottsville to Snowden on the south side of the James.

Peter Valentine Foland was the son of Peter Field Jefferson's only daughter, Frances Ann Jefferson, who married Valentine Foland, a Virginia-born cabinet maker.  Young Peter Foland's parents left Scottsville before his birth in 1845, and he grew to manhood in Jefferson County, Tennessee. 

It is likely that Peter Field Jefferson never saw his grandson, though he generously provided for his daughter's only child in his 1854 will.  At twenty-one, Peter Foland would receive a handsome inheritance.  In the near term, he had a war to fight.  By 1866, Peter Foland had claimed his inheritance (which included Mount Walla, the family home at Scottsville) and had married a local girl, Elizabeth "Bettie" Clarke Straton.  Foland would spend the rest of his life in Scottsville, living amongst his Jefferson cousins, who were scattered across Buckingham and Albemarle counties.  An upright Virginia citizen, he operated his grandfather's ferry from Scottsville to the landing at Snowden in Buckingham County, the home of his great-grandfather, Randolph Jefferson.

Mount Walla, ca. 2000, home of Peter V. Foland and family. 
Courtesy of Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Thanks to Civil War records maintained at the National Archives, we have a glimpse into Peter Foland's war experience.  On October 19, 1861, he enlisted for twelve months of service in Company G of the 43rd Tennessee Volunteers.  In January of 1862, he was appointed fifer for the company.  Described as having gray eyes and light hair, with a fair complexion, at 5'3" he was a small young man, likely still anticipating a growth spurt.  His discharge papers from this company state that he was born in Richmond County, Virginia.  A fact that later will be contradicted.  Having served his full year and owing no funds to the Confederate States, in November of 1862, Foland headed home with $6.80 in back pay.

To learn more about Scottsville's Foland family, please visit Joanne's Slate River Ramblings blog online at: The Foland Family of Scottsville.

To learn more about Scottsville's Foland family, please read Joanne Yeck's book, Peter Field Jefferson: Dark Prince of Scottsville and Lost Jeffersons, which may be purchased at Scottsville Museum or online at www.amazon.com. or online at Braughler Books.