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, Lynch was originally a native of Galway, Ireland. It was said that when he was around 15 years old, he took offense at certain mistreatment he received from a schoolmaster and subsequently resolved to leave his country, boarding a ship at the docks that he thought was bound for a European destination. Upon realizing the ship was destined for North America, he repented his decision and, leaping into the sea, attempted to swim for land as his vessel left its moorings; however, he was rescued by the ship's sailors and placed in the hold for the remainder of the voyage.

Upon arriving in Virginia, Lynch was entered by the ship's captain into an indentured servitude contract with a successful Quaker named Christopher Clark who lived in Louisa County. Lynch was said to have looked back on his time with Clark fondly, calling it a "second birth." During this period, Lynch worked as an apprentice for Clark's son, who was a local lawyer. Lynch would also marry Clark's daughter, Sarah, in Lee County in 1733. After being released from his indenture early, Lynch and his wife would depart his former master’s farm with livestock, equipment, and conveyances, They migrated 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 would go 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 and established there 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.

Family and descendants

Lynch's wife, Sarah, was the daughter of Christopher and Penelope Clark. She joined the Society of Friends around the time of her moving into 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 named Charles, John, Christopher, and Sarah Lynch. John would go on to found the city of Lynchburg in 1786. Charles would serve 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 promptness in suppressing the activities of outlaws and violent Loyalists during this time later gave rise to the phrase "Lynch Law"). Sarah Lynch would marry twice throughout 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).