Roszel, Stephen C.

Stephen Chilton Roszell was born between 1771 and 1773 to Stephen Roszell Sr. and Sarah Chilton. The Roszells were a Methodist family; Sarah had been a leader in the first Methodist society in Baltimore County, Maryland, before moving to Loudoun County with her husband, where their children were born. The family included three sons named Stephen. Their oldest son, Stephen George Roszell, became a circuit rider in 1789 and eventually won renown as a revival preacher. In 1794, Stephen Sr. died after a short illness, leaving his middle son Stephen Chilton Roszell “all that tract of land…in Loudoun County adjourning the Glebe Land of Shelburne.” The family’s main plantation and house were to remain with the widowed Sarah Chilton Roszell until her death, then pass to the youngest brother, Stephen Wesley. Stephen Chilton Roszell and his siblings were also instructed to free an enslaved girl, Jane, and a boy, Zack, when they reached the age of twenty-five, as well as any children Jane might have.

As an adult, Stephen C. Roszell established himself in the Leesburg area and eventually owned a mill. In 1814, county officials initially fined him for not showing up to militia practice, but the fine was later rescinded and he was exempted from further militia service “during the time he continues Miller of his Mill.” Even with increased wartime demand for soldiers, county leaders considered Roszell’s business of processing wheat into flour for food as essential. He evidently continued running a mill for the rest of his life, as in 1821 an artisan specializing in wheat fans and other milling tools advertised in the Genius of Liberty and listed Roszell as a previous customer who could vouch for the quality of his work.

In addition to his work as a miller and planter, Roszell was politically active, serving as a delegate representing Loudoun County in the Virginia state legislature for three separate terms. Roszell was a Federalist. During his time in office, Roszell occasionally used the newspaper to communicate with his constituents. In January 1820, the Genius of Liberty published his letter to the editor, which outlined current political events and the actions he hoped the assembly would take. The Alexandria Gazette and Daily Advertiser reported in 1819 that Roszell had sponsored a bill “respecting certain poorhouse lots of land in Loudoun County.”

After leaving office, Roszell continued to be involved in community and political organizations. Roszell continued to advocate for building poorhouses in Loudoun, advertising in the Genius of Liberty in 1821 along with several other men with the goal of buying a plot of land for that purpose. He was also listed as a member of a society, hosted in Leesburg at the local Methodist church, “to aid the efforts of the American Society for Colonizing the free people of colour, with their consent, upon the coast of Africa.” Loudoun County’s chapter of the American Colonization Society, like the broader colonization movement, was far from radical. Its chief objective was to rid the United States of African and African American people, especially free people of color, and its membership included slaveholding planters like Stephen Roszell. Roszell was a relatively large slaveholder by the standards of Loudoun County. The 1820 census recorded sixteen enslaved people—five men, five women, and six children under the age of fourteen—in Roszell’s household. He advertised in the Genius of Liberty in 1818, offering a reward of up to fifty dollars for the capture of an enslaved man named Dick, who had run away from his property near Leesburg.

Roszell married comparatively late in life in 1812, to a woman named Ann Dow. There is little historical record of his wife aside from their marriage, and they do not appear to have had children. The wedding was officiated by an Episcopal priest, despite the Roszell family’s Methodist roots, perhaps indicating the religious preferences of his wife.

Stephen Chilton Roszell died 16 August 1822 and is buried in the family cemetery in Philomont, Loudoun County. His gravestone lauds him as “among the few all men spoke well of.”

By Julia Preston