The History of the City of Fredericksburg, VirginiaQuinn, S. J. (Silvanus Jackson)
History
The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia
Quinn, S. J. (Silvanus Jackson)
Fredericksburg (Va.) -- History
One clause of the will reads as follows: "It is my will and desire that my
lots and houses in this town shall be sold and converted into money for as
much as they will bring, that with all my other estate being sold, and
what of my outstanding debts that can be collected, I give and bequeath to
my beloved sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children in Abigland, in
the parish of Kirkbean, in Stewarty of Galloway, North Briton, and their
heirs forever." It is not believed that Wm. Paul owned any property out of
town from the fact that the bond of his administrator was only five
hundred pounds, which was generally double the amount of the estate. His
estate in town consisted of his houses and lots, his merchandise and
accounts due him, which must have been worth twelve or fifteen hundred
dollars. Therefore the bond of $2,500 was sufficient only for his
possessions in town, and no other is alluded to or mentioned in his will.
It has been held that he owned property in the county of Spotsylvania, but
that arises from the fact there were others by the name of Paul in the
county who had property. But this William Paul is traced by the reference
in his will to the parish of Kirkbean, Galloway, where his sister, Mary
Young, and brother John lived.
Why John Paul changed his name to Jones was probably known only to
himself. Many writers have undertaken to explain it, but without success,
and the mystery is yet unsolved. In 1775 John Paul Jones's name heads a
list of naval lieutenants, and, because of his meritorious services, he
was soon appointed a captain, and finally rose to the rank of commodore.
His daring exploits and unequal, but successful, contests soon won for him
the thanks of the American Congress, as well as the gratitude of the
American people, while it carried terror and dismay to the enemies of his
country. He greatly humiliated England by landing his fleet on her shores
during the Revolutionary war, a thing that had not been done before for
centuries, if ever, since it was a nation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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