Existing comment:
"The Lion of the Wilderness"
The Lacys at Ellwood:
When J. Horace Lacy married Betty Churchill Jones at Ellwood on October 19, 1848, he married well. Though trained as an attorney, Lacy had been a tutor. His marriage to Betty gave him control of Ellwood, its lands, and all its slaves (they eventually owned more than 200).
Lacy would quickly became known for his speaking skills. A slaveowner, he became an ardent advocate for secession. Some called him the "Lion of the Wilderness."
He and Betty owned Ellwood until they died in the early 1900s. The Civil War dealt a cruel blow to the Lacy's fortunes: the value of the Lacys' personal property dropped from $180,000 in 1860 to just $2,000 in 1870 -- most of that due to the loss of slaves.
After the war, Lacy raised money for Confederate memorials and ran for office as "the White Man's Candidate." He won, by served only one term in the state legislature.
J. Horace Lacy and Betty Churchill Jones married when she was 19 and would be married for 58 years. They raised eight children, and from 1857-1872 managed two plantations, Ellwood and Chatham, located in Stafford County opposite Fredericksburg.
"Major Lacy is yet a vigorous man, erect in carriage, and retaining his old-time courteous, but dignified bearing. He now lives at the Wilderness... He is a brilliant conversationalist."
-- Joseph O. Kerbey, Union Veteran, 1889 |