The Chinn Family

Near this site, six generations of the Chinn family lived as one of Prince William County’s early African-American families. The family traces its heritage to Nancy, a slave born in 1794 on the William Roe farm in Fauquier County. William Roe’s nephew, Henry Fielder Roe, who owned land near present-day Lake Ridge, eventually became the owner of Nancy and her children through inheritance. One of Nancy’s daughters, Mary Jane, married Thomas Chinn, another slave, and they had eight sons. After Emancipation, the Chinns bought several hundred acres of land along Telegraph and Davis Ford Roads, now Minnieville Road. They built homes in the area known as Agnewville, or sometimes as Chinntown. The family has a long history of service to the County: John Chinn owned a general store, and Robert and William Chinn donated land on which Mount Olive Baptist Church stands. Several Chinns are buried in that church’s cemetery.

Lake Ridge, Virginia · United States