John Syme (1729-1805)

He was the half-brother and best friend of Governor Patrick Henry. He inherited Studley Plantation and land at Rocky Mills from his father, building the Rocky Mills mansion on the latter. He fought in the French & Indian War. He was a Member of the Virginia Assembly (1752-55); Member of the Privy Council (1759), and State Senator. In 1776, he was a delegate to the Virginia Conventions that declared independence from Britain. During the Revolution he collected stores, horses, etc., mended roads, transported cannon, and ground flour for the Continental Army at his mill at Rocky Mills (now called Fairfield) in Hanover County. In 1750, He married his first wife, Mildred Meriwether, and they had 3-children. After she died in 1764, four years later (1768) he married Sarah Hoops and had a further four children (all listed above).