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Edward Porter Alexander (Edited, with an Introduction by) : The Journal of John Fontaine: An Irish Huguenot Son in Spain and Virginia, 1710-1719

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1972

ISBN 0910412960

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. M5 - A hardcover book in very good condition in fair dust jacket that is mylar protected. Dust jacket has less pirce clipped, 2"x2" patch peeled on the front upper right, some wrinkling, chipping, crease, small tears and few open tears on the edges and corners, some scattered light scratches, rubbing and scuffing, tanning and light shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, wrinkling on the spine edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. 9.25"x6.25", 190 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. John Fontaine was the fourth son and the fifth of eight children born to James and Anne Elizabeth Fontaine, Huguenot refugees from France who settled first in Devonshire, later in Ireland. The head of this household, always seeking ways to better himself and his offspring, first got john a commission in the British army, then sent him to Virginia to find and buy land where members of the family could settle. In Spain as a teenage officer, at sea on his way to the New World, and during the three trips in Virginia and a fourth to New York City, young Fontaine - by then in his early twenties - kept a careful record of that he did and saw and thought. On first arriving in Williamsburg, obviously a personable companion as well as a sturdy traveler, Fontaine immediately became friends with the dynamic Governor Alexander Spotswood. He accompanied the governor on a trip to Fort Christanna and the Indian settlement is guarded, as well as on the famous "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" expedition over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fontaine's account of the latter trip is the principal source of information on this episode in Virginia history. In due time several members of the Fontaine clan did come over and settle in Virginia. John himself returned to Ireland and then to England where he married, took up watchmaking and silk weaving, and finally retired to a small estate in Wales. Fontaine's journal, along with other family letters and papers, was first published in 1853 - as one of his descendants, Ann Maury, had transcribed it, omitting some parts she considered of little interest. Now for the first time the entire journal, fully annotated, appears in print.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Fair

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