Seeking Descendants of Menokin’s Enslaved Community

Menokin, built in 1769, was the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The property, located near Warsaw, Richmond County, in Virginia's Northern Neck, is owned and managed by the Menokin Foundation. The Foundation is seeking to identify persons who were enslaved at Menokin and their present-day descendants.

Menokin would like to hear from persons who are descended from, otherwise related to, or have information about any persons who may have been enslaved at Menokin.

PLEASE CONTACT:

The Menokin descendant engagement team chaired by Judith Gordon and Frank Albert Johnson, Jr.

Phone: 804-333-1776, Ext. 106   Email: descendants@menokin.org

Persons Who Were Enslaved at Menokin

Names in bold print were enslaved at Menokin. Others named are Descendants of the enslaved at Menokin.

Amanda Beverly, who was married to Stafford Gordon, was enslaved at Menokin along with their children:

Their youngest child, Leland Gordon, was born after emancipation.

Peter Henry who was married to Ellen Smith. She was enslaved at a nearby plantation along with their children:

William Parris who was married to Lucella (Louisa) Cox, a free woman. Their children lived with their mother.

Persons Who Lived and/or Worked at Menokin Just After the Civil War

Image below of hand retracing fingerprints on brick of the enslaved persons who built Menokin