1867-1878: Philip Carter Lewis (PCL) Burwell

Researched and written by Donna Leight, 2026

From Maloy to Burwell

On November 15,1867, Anna Maloy sold her 419 N. Loudoun Street home to Philip Carter Lewis (PCL) Burwell for $4500, with payments over a four-year period. He paid $500 at the time of signing and agreed to pay $1500 at the time of official deed transfer, $1250 in October of 1868, and the final payment of $1250 in October 1869, with “interest from the 1October1867”. (Ref 1)

Who Was PCL Burwell?

PCL Burwell

Philip Carter Lewis Burwell is referred to as “PCL” Burwell in historical records, including property deeds, census data, and private diaries. He was born into the wealthy Burwell family of Millwood’s Carter Hall. His father, Carter Burwell served in the War of 1812 and his grandfather Colonel Nathaniel Burwell severed in the Revolutionary War. PCL’s mother, Mary Jones died in 1826 at the young age of 31 at Carters Grove Plantation in James City County, VA. PCL was just 9 years old. See below for more details of the Burwell legacy.

PCL married Susan Anne Lee in 1836. They had six children before Susan’s early death in 1848. When she died, the Burwell children went to live with her brother Hugh Holmes Lee and his wife Mary Greenhow Lee.

Susan Lee Burrell

The 1850 census shows that PCL was living at the Taylor hotel ran by George Seevers. We believe that PCL was co-owner of the hotel with William R. Denny (earlier story) prior to 1858 and L.T. Moore post-1858. Per Cartmell, the Taylor Hotel “was run by such proprietors as Geo. W. Hammond (Mr. Taylors’ son-in-law), N. M. Cartmell, and P.C.L. Burwell, until Genl. Banks took possession of it for a hospital in the Summer of 1962.” (Ref 2)

In 1859, PCL married widow Anna Rae Riely and the 1860 census shows them living in Winchester with 3 of his children and 2 of hers. The 1860 Slave Schedule, taken just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War shows that PCL owned 29 enslaved people. (See “The Enslaved”, below.) These early census records and slave schedules do not show where they lived in Winchester.

It is interesting that census data of 1830-1860 does not include an occupation for PCL, which is unusual for the head of the household. Only in 1870, after the Civil War, does it show him as a “farmer.” The Burwell’s bought the Fort Hill property in 1867 and would own it until 1878.

It is not known exactly when the brick house that currently stands at 419 N. Loudoun Street was built. Per Cartmell, “On Loudoun Street extended, North, the old Magill house – home of Geo. W. Keller (which we know is #418), who has added modern style, and the brick house on West side of the street, erected by P.C. L. Burwell, were the last houses seen on the Winchester and Martinsburg Turnpike until Neffstown was reached.” (Ref 2)

While Cartmell stated that the house was built by Burwell, there is adequate evidence to confirm that the house was built prior to the Civil War. Per Quarles speaking of 419 North Loudoun Street, “it is our judgment that Baker also built a this time, the residence we are considering and that he made his home there.” (Joseph Baker ownership was 1837-1859). Quarles also states, “ P.C.L. Burwell, who purchased the house and lot in 1867, had undoubtedly lived there during part of the Civil War, if not all of it.” (Ref 3)

In the 1950’s when renovations were being done to the house, proof was found that dated the house being built prior to the Civil War. Per correspondence with Chip Hardy, whose family owned the house from 1886-2002:

“The house itself was a casualty of the Civil War. At the time, it was the northernmost major building in Winchester and received both rifle and cannon fire in various engagements. When we repointed the brick in 1954, the masons found numerous bullets and mini balls in the walls. And when we removed the long front porch, the exposed ground yielded a substantial cannonball, and some other ordinance.”

It is not known how long the Burwell’s lived in the Fort Hill house, if at all. Records show that in October of 1877, Henry Brent approached the Special Commission of the Chancery Court to sell the Loudoun Street property, in “H.M. Brent vs. PCL Burwell and Others.” The backstory for the case was not found by this author. In April 1878, Charles B. Hancock paid $1952 to purchase the property with another $1800 paid in March 1879. (Refs 4 & 5)

PCL Burwell died in November 1878 of pneumonia (Ref 6), during this sale. He and most of his family are buried at Mt Hebron .

Civil War Ties

PCL Burwell’s southern ties ran deep at a time when loyalty to state often surpassed loyalty to country. PCL joined the Confederacy and served in the Virginia 31st Militia Infantry.

Per Quarles, in “Occupied Winchester”, “on October 25, 1864, according to Mrs. Lee “nearly every man in Winchester, young & old was arrested and taken out of pique because Mosby had captured a high-ranking Union office the day before. Some of the arrested men were released, but most of them were sent away, among them being Mr. P.C. L. Burwell, father of Mrs. Lee’s nieces and nephews who lived with her. 68 prisoners in all were taken to Ft McHenry in Baltimore to subsist on half-rations.” PCL was released in December of that same year. (Ref 7)

He had been arrested earlier that year, along with Rev. Eggleston and a Mr. Schultz, but was released and paroled.  During this period, churches were occupied by soldiers and used as hospitals. “The Episcopal Church organized and promoted prayer meetings at private homes… such meetings were held at the homes of Dr. McGuire, Mrs. Lee, D.W. Barton,… P.C.L. Burwell…” (Ref 7) We don’t know what home thy speak of for PCL.

The Burwell Legacy

PCL came from the prominent Burwell family of Virginia. His grandfather was Colonel Nathaniel Burwell who served in the American Revolution. He was recruited into an artillery company in Winchester, suffered the brutal Valley Forge winter, and as a captain, served as an aide to General Robert Howe. (Ref 2)

Nathaniel was a member of the Virginia State Convention of 1788 and voted in that convention for the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. (Ref 8)  He built Carter Hall and it’s mill in the mid-1790’s, near present day Millwood Virginia. The Carter Hall mill served the plantation and the nearby Burwell-Morgan Mill served as the commercial gristmill for the village.

The Lee Legacy

General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee

Daniel Lee, the father of PCL’s wife Susan, served various roles in the Winchester court system. He an attorney, the Clerk of the District Court, and the clerk of the Winchester Chancery Court. He was president of the Farmers Bank Winchester branch from 1815 until his death in 1833. He and his wife Elizabeth are buried at Mt. Hebron.

Daniel’s brother Charles was appointed United States Attorney General by President George Washington in 1795. He continued in that role under President John Adams.

General Robert E. Lee

Daniel’s brother Henry (Susan’s uncle) was General Henry Lee III, the famous Revolutionary War cavalry officer, “Light Horse Harry”. He joined the war in 1775 and served throughout, finishing in the southern theater at the Battle of Guilford Court House, the Battle of Eutaw Springs, and at Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown.

Henry Lee was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, served in the Virginia convention and supported ratifying the United States Constitution. He served in the Virginia General Assembly, was Governor of Virginia, and served in the United States House of Representatives. In 1794, President George Washington summoned Lee to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. At Washington’s funeral on December 26, 1799, Lee’s eulogy included the famous quote “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen“.                   

Winchester Virginian, published in Winchester, Virginia on Wednesday, August 8th, 1849 (Ref 9)

Henry Lee’s son (Susan Lee Burwell’s cousin) was Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who needs no introduction. This relationship explains much of the PCL Burwell family story during the Civil War.

As mentioned earlier, following the death of their mother in 1848, the Burwell children lived at home of Susan’s brother Hugh Holmes Lee at 132 N. Cameron Street (the home has been replaced with a parking lot, just south of the George Washington Hotel). When Hugh died in 1856, their Cameron Street home was sold at auction in the estate settlement. His wife, Mary Charlton Greenhow Lee, was able to purchase their home. (Ref 7)

Mary was a staunch and outspoken southern supporter and kept detailed diaries of civilian life in Winchester during the Civil War. These diaries have been published and are available from the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. Mary regularly and openly broke military orders and in February 1865, she was driven out of town by Union Gen Sheridan and didn’t return to Winchester until her burial at Mt. Hebron in 1907. (Ref 7)

PCL and Susan’s Children

Philip Lewis Carter Burwell 

PCL and Susan had two daughters, Louisa and Laura, and four sons. Philip “Lewis” Carter  and Robert “Bob” Saunders are discussed below. Young sons Edwin and Henry both died in 1843.

The 1860 census shows that 17-year-old son Philip Lewis Carter Burwell as a Medical Student. He was attending the University of Virginia when the Civil War broke out, and he enlisted in the Confederacy in September1861. In 1862, he served as Aide-de-Camp in the General Branch of North Carolina. In 1864, he served on the staff of General Jubal Early’s Corps. He later became an engineer in charge of the maintenance of way of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad and the superintendent of road and resident agent of the Consolidation Coal Company. (Ref 10)

Son Robert “Bob” joined the Confederacy in April 1861, just days after the shots at Fort Sumter. He was imprisoned in Kernstown in March 1862, at the 1st Battle of Kernstown and was exchanged in August. He was again confined in March 1863 at Fort Delaware and returned in April 1864. (Ref 11)

The Enslaved

The larger Burwell family had many enslaved people on their Virginia properties. Slave schedules of 1840 and 1850 reflect that a Lewis Burwell owned 4 enslaved people, but it is unclear if “Lewis” is “PCL”. However, the Slave Schedule of 1860 clearly shows that PCL Burwell owned 29 enslaved people.

Six Males, age 33-55 yrs

Six females, age 32-56 yrs

Seventeen children, eleven males, age 1-11 yrs and six females, age 6 ms-10 yrs.

Early census records and Slave Schedules do not show where they lived in Winchester. And it is not known what happened to these enslaved families following the Civil War. However, the census of 1870 shows that two of the enslaved may have remained with the PCL Burwell family. Edward Lockly, age 75, is shown as a laborer and Frances Lockly, age 65, is shown as a cook.

During this period, PCL owned the home at 419 N. Loudoun Street, and we might assume that he, Anna, Brisco, Edward and Frances lived there during the 1870 census, but this writer found no evidence to confirm that. An online search for the Lockly’s did not produce any related information but the author will continue to look for their story. They may be another “Family of Fort Hill”.

  1. Winchester City Deed Book 11 Page 398
  2. Cartmell, T.K. Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants: A History of Frederick County, Virginia, From its Formation in 1738 to 1908. The Eddy Press Corporation, Winchester, VA 1909
  3. Quarles, Garland R. The Story of One Hundred Old Homes in Winchester, Virginia. Prepared for the Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Winchester, Virginia 1967
  4. Winchester City Deed Book 15 Page 433
  5. Winchester City Deed Book 16 Page 98
  6. Winchester Register of Deaths 1878
  7. Quarles, Garland R. Occupied Winchester, 1861-1865. Prepared for the Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Winchester, Virginia. 1976
  8. CCHA Proceedings Volume 6 (1946).pdf, https://www.clarkehistory.org/media/CCHA%20Proceedings%20Volume%206%20(1946).pdf
  9. Winchester Virginian, published in Winchester, Virginia on Wednesday, August 8th, 1849, advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=taylor hotel burwell&i=f&d=01011830-12311880&m=between&ord=k1&fn=winchester_virginian_usa_virginia_winchester_18490808_english_2&df=21&dt=30
  10. Access Newspaper Archive Institutional Version | Viewer https://access.newspaperarchive.com/us/maryland/baltimore/baltimore-sun/1909/06-01/page-5
  11. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865
  12. United States Federal Census Data and Slave Schedules
  13. Records in Ancestry.com
  14. FindaGrave.com