Bland / Gregg

Narrative

Information found in the 1941 book titled "Prince William, It’s People and Places" by the Works Progress Administration and the Virginia Conservation Commission.

OWNERS

George Tansill, 1877
Daniel Bryan, 1896
Elinor Merrill, 1907
John Leary, 1929
Present owner (1937), C. Cleveland Russell.

DISCRIPTION

The site of the original house on this place is situated at least a quarter of a mile from the road, al-though the roadbed has been changed and-at the time that it was built, it came nearer to the door. There are all modern buildings on the place at the present time (1937), but the old house, which was in bad condition at the time the present owner came into possession, was torn down. It was part of log; probably the original part, and the other of frame, but that too, was old. It had seven rooms, the log part forming the "L", a porch in front, two large chimneys, one at each end.

No one seems to have any clear idea as to the interior, but it is considered one of the very old sites in the vicinity, and it may be older than the probable date given.

The graveyard is to the south, in what are now thick woods, and while it is not more than seven hundred rods from the house, there is nothing to indicate to the stranger that a graveyard is there. Most of the graves are marked with the ordinary field stones as markers, without any inscription, but that they are old is testified by the large trees that are growing directly over them.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:

This is one of the places that is difficult to get any authoritative history of, the stories that are told either being too indefinite or of too personal a nature to reveal.

The Tansill family was one of the old families in the section, and the one who lived here was the County Sheriff for some time, also one of Parson Weems' daughters married a Tansill who rose to considerable fame in the Marine Corps.

Following are the inscriptions that are to be found in the old graveyard in the woods.

"Infant Daughter of M. F. and M. V. Gregg."(No date)

"Martha. Virginia Gregg, wife of Myron Gregg, Died May 22, 1857, aged 22 years."

"The fairest flowers soonest fade, Friends most loved soonest die, Die and in the grave are laid, But the loved ones live in high".

"Isiah Bland, born November 15, 1876, died July 21, 1883

One stone, on which the name, date, and first lines of the verse are broken off, has the following:

"This quiet, immovable breast, Is heaved by passion no more."

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

Informants: Mrs. Cleveland Russell, Woodbridge, Virginia. Miss Alice Hinton, Minnieville, Virginia, and Miss Alice Maud Ewell, Haymarket, Virginia.

Court House Records, Manassas, Virginia.

Deed Book 31, folio 301, Deed Book 56, folio 485,

Deed Book 44, folio 475, Deed Book 87, folio 138.

Survey Details

Classification:	Family
Status:	Not in use
Condition:	Poor
Approx. Size:	20 X 20 feet
Approximate Number of Burials:	Unknown
Markers:	None remaining
Comments:	According to Journal Messenger 17 Oct 1968 two marked stones were on the site at that time. E. R. Conner stated in his book One Hundred Old Cemeteries of Prince William County Virginia that when he was at the site 17 1979 the stones were missing. They were also missing in 1998 when I surveyed the cemetery.
Surveyed By:	Ron Turner - 1998
Latitude / Longitude:	38.646761, -77.317864

Site Visits

Visited by:	Date:	Comments:
Ron Turner	1998	According to Journal Messenger 17 Oct 1968 two marked stones were on the site at that time. E. R. Conner stated in his book One Hundred Old Cemeteries of Prince William County Virginia that when he was at the site 17 1979 the stones were missing. They were also missing in 1998 when I surveyed the cemetery.
David Cuff	Dec. 23 2018	This cemetery is on a small parcel elevated above the area around it. It looks nothing like a cemetery. As noted, no markers are present and there are no visable depressions.

Images

Map