Charles Lynch

Historical marker commemorating the site of Lynch's home along the James River in Lynchburg, Virginia. Photo by Bernard Fisher.

Charles Lynch (1704-1753) was a prominent inhabitant of early Albemarle County in the mid-eighteenth century.

Life

Born in 1704, Charles Lynch was a native of Galway, Ireland. Around 15 years old,while attending a boarding school, mistreatment from the schoolmaster motivated him to board a ship and escape to Europe. When realizing the ship was bound to North America, he regretted his decision, and jumped overboard hoping to reach land, as his vessel left its mooring. He was then rescued by the ship's sailors and placed on hold for the remainder of the voyage.

Upon arriving in Virginia, Lynch was forced into indentured servitude by the ship's captain and a successful Quaker named Christopher Clark who lived in Louisa County. Lynch reportedly looked back on his time with Clark fondly, calling it a "second birth." During this time, Lynch worked as an apprentice for Clark's son, a local lawyer. Lynch went on to marry Clark's daughter, Sarah Clark, in Lee County in 1733. After his release from his indenture, Lynch and his wife departed his former master’s farm with livestock, equipment, and conveyances, They traveled throughout the state, acquiring tracts of land in several counties including Bedford, Caroline, Goochland, Louisa, and Orange.

Lynch obtained his first piece of land within the territory of present-day Albemarle County in 1733. Throughout the next seventeen years, Lynch went on to acquire deeds for a total of 6,500 acres dispersed in sections along the Hardware River, Rivanna River, Moore's Creek, and Mechums River. He built his home along the Rivanna River on the site of today's Pen Park. Here, he established Lynch's Ferry (or Ford), which is heavily mentioned in the early records of the Albemarle County Court. During this time, Lynch served as one of the original magistrates of the county (having previously served as a magistrate of Goochland County as well), as Sheriff in 1749, and as a representative of the county in the House of Burgesses.

In 1750, Lynch acquired 1,600 acres of land along the James River opposite of the site of modern Lynchburg and made it his primary residence. He died there in 1753. It should be noted that the land that Lynch owned, originally belonged to the Powhatan peoples.

Family and descendants

Charles Lynch's wife, Sarah Clark, was the daughter of Christopher and Penelope Clark. She joined the Society of Friends around the time of her moving onto Lynch's land along the James River, permitting the establishment of a Quaker Meeting House known as "South River" on her property on Lynch's Creek in 1754.

Lynch and Sarah had four children: Charles, John, Christopher, and Sarah Lynch. John would go on to found the city of Lynchburg in 1786. Charles served as the clerk of the South River Meeting House until the period immediately prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, when his patriotic inclinations led him to serve as a colonel in the Revolutionary army. His quick thinking in suppressing the activities of outlaws and violent Loyalists during this time later gave rise to the phrase "Lynch Law". Sarah Lynch would marry two more times in her life, to Micajah Terrell and John Ward of Bedford, respectively.

Legacy

Lynch's River and Lynch's Creek (a tributary of the Rockfish River) in Albemarle County both serve as memorials to Lynch's former presence in the community.

The phrase "lynching" was likely coined in memory of the harsh actions undertaken against Loyalist prisoners by Lynch's son, Charles, during the Revolutionary War (the term did not carry racial connotations in its original form).