Simpson, John

John Simpson was born in 1787. He married Nancy Smith on 17 December 1811. They resided in Loudoun County and had eleven children together. John Simpson died on 7 August 1854 “of advanced age,” according to his death notice in the Virginia Free Press.

In the Mason family manuscript account book, John Simpson was referred to as the widow Mary Mason’s overseer at Raspberry Plain. Plantation overseers came from a variety of backgrounds and worked in many roles on the plantation, such as agricultural and enslaved labor management, building repair, and regular correspondence with their employers regarding the state of the plantation. Often, overseers were men who aspired to be planters, but needed to learn the skills and acquire capital to purchase land to farm themselves, which usually required connections to sources of capital or credit within the community.

Simpson achieved this goal; he was able to become a planter on his own, likely in part due to his extensive connections in and around Loudoun County. Simpson developed relationships with elite community members like the Masons, possibly as a result of family connections, since his grandfather, Gilbert Simpson Sr., and uncle, Gilbert Simpson Jr., were overseers for George Washington. John Simpson’s grandmother, Elizabeth Simpson, was a midwife, delivering enslaved children on Washington’s farms.

According to the will John Simpson filed on 22 April 1854, he planned to leave his surviving children the majority of his estate, including monetary inheritance as well as specific enslaved persons. After his death, the appraisement and inventory of Simpson’s personal estate showed he owned property worth approximately $19,000 and thirty-five enslaved people. As the inventory of his estate suggests, Simpson was a respectable and prosperous member of society, owning many sets of chairs, sets of dishes, and many larger furniture pieces. Following his death on 7 August 1854, some of Simpson’s land was sold in parcels to repay his outstanding debts. He was buried at the North Fork Baptist Church Cemetery in Loudoun County.

By Nicole Falgiano