Sunday, February 13, 2011

Website: Historical Marker Database

A little off the beaten path, the Historical Marker Database can sometimes provide information on a family and their location.  

Take the marker for the CHINN family, for instance, one of "Prince William County’s early African-American families."  The marker names several CHINNs as well as their association with the region.

Incidentally, the CHINN name pops up quite a bit in PWCo.  The Chinn Park Regional Library was named after Mary Jane Chinn, stating on their website that she "was born in 1827 and died in 1907. She is buried in the cemetery of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, still located on Telegraph Road in Woodbridge. Mary Jane and Tom Chinn were slaves who, after emancipation, purchased several hundred acres along what was formerly Davis Ford and Telegraph Roads in Woodbridge. They had eight sons."

The Chinn family is also associated with the Ben Lomond Historical Site, which will be one of the focal points of this year's 150th commemoration of the start of the Civil War.  Ben Lomond (also known as the PRINGLE house) was built in 1832 by Benjamin Tasker Chinn and Edmonia Carter Chinn and was used as a Confederate hospital during and after the Battle of First Manassas in July 1861.

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