Thomas Lewis

Thomas Lewis (April 27, 1718 – January 31, 1790) was an Irish-American surveyor, lawyer, politician and pioneer of early western Virginia. He was among the signers of the Fairfax Resolves, represented Augusta County at four of the five Virginia Revolutionary Conventions and the first session of the Virginia House of Delegates during the American War for Independence, and after the conflict, represented newly established Rockingham County at the Virginia Ratification Convention, as well as contributed to the settlement of an area that long after his death become part of West Virginia. Early life Lewis was born to Colonel John Lewis (1678–1762) and Margaret Lynn Lewis (1693–1773) in County Donegal, Ireland on April 27, 1718. Needing to leave Ireland after killing his landlord, John Lewis immigrated to Philadelphia in 1728; and two years later brought over his family, including Thomas and his brothers Andrew and William. In the summer of 1732 the Lewis family moved to the western frontier, following the Shenandoah River south into Virginia, and finally settled near the headwaters of the south fork in what was then vast Spotsylvania County. The family established a farm and built a stone house for defense against the raids. The Crown in 1736 granted Robert Beverley's son, Col. William Beverley, a wealthy planter and merchant from Essex County in the Virginia colony, more than 118,000 acres (478 km²)(in what would become Augusta County). This effectively made the Lewis family squatters on Beverley's new land grant. John Lewis corrected this in 1739 by purchasing 2,000 acres (8 km²) along Lewis Creek (about a mile (2 km) east of what is now Staunton, Virginia) from Beverley. He named his new home "Bellefonte". Thomas Lewis was considered an ardent student as a young man, partly because he was very nearsighted. Later, he learned surveying and read law. As early as 1739 he began acquiring land of his own to the south and west of Beverley's Manor in what is today Rockingham and Bath counties.