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Quinby & the Strange Death
of Rachel Revell Upshur
Quinby was named from the family of Upshur B. Quinby who lived on a nearby farm
in the 1880's. It became another fishing village along the shore, with a harbor,
grocery store and a few homes. In the center of the town is Smith's Chapel which
was built in 1896. A few doors down from the Chapel was the Atlantic View house
which became the villages first post office in 1896.
The Quinby harbor was not quite a
true harbor; it was once known as "Besold's Gut" before it was dredged in 1931.
Before that time local watermen anchored their boats
in Upshur Bay and came ashore walking through the marshes. Overlooking the harbor
is Fisherman's Lodge which was built in the 1930's catering to the out of town
sports fishermen and waterfowl hunters.
About a half mile below the town of
Quinby stands the Warwick house where a family named Upshur lived. The brick
portion of the house, probably the original kitchen, possibly dates back to the
1600's and
survived a fire set by the British during the Revolution. Rachel Revell Upshur
lived at Warwick and is the subject of a great folktale from the shore.
She went outside to see after her
husband Abel, who had been checking on their chickens. When she went out she was bitten on the foot by a rabid red fox.
She was rushed back into the house with her foot bleeding on the doorstep. She
developed hydrophobia and on soon after she was deliberately smothered
by her servants in bed. Some sources claim that her blood is still visible especially after a rain.
Her grave lies near the house but her tombstone has been overturned by the roots of a
large tree.
 Warwick's doorstep stone. Rachel's son, Arthur Upshur, led to the destruction of the original house. While he was away from home, the British who were active on the Eastern Shore at that time, landed at his home and purchased some meat from his wife Leah Custis Upshur. Believing a report that the British were ransacking his house, he came home bringing his company of soldiers with him. Upon seeing the British Upshur and his men fired killing British soldiers, after returning to his house he learned the British had not damaged the property. According to tradition,he spent the next day and night removing his valuables. The following day the British returned stealing all things of value remaining and burning the house. |
Notes: HomeOfficial Trail Guide Web Site The Other Historic Site Guides: Historic Site Guide North Accomack - Chincoteague and Assateague IslandHistoric Site Guide Northampton - Willis Wharf to Eastern Shore Wildlife Refuge
The Trail was developed by the Accomack -
Northampton Planning District Commission in cooperation with Accomack County,
Northampton County, the Town of Chincoteague, the Town of Wachapreague, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program. It is a project of Virginia's Seaside Heritage Program,
a multi-year effort to restore living resources and promote sustainable ecotourism
on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. |
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