John Lynch (August 28, 1740 – October 31, 1820) was an American merchant who founded the city of

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

Early life

Lynch's father was Charles Lynch, who was born in

Galway, Ireland Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on t ...

, but immigrated to Virginia in 1720 and prospered. Lynch himself was born on August 28, 1740, in

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Char ...

. Charles Lynch married Sarah Clarke in 1733 and moved near the present site of Lynchburg. John Lynch was one of six children they had, another of whom was

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, a judge believed to be the namesake of

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

Founding of Lynchburg

The Lynch Ferry across the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

was established by the family about 1745. In 1757, seventeen year old John Lynch took over control of the ferry business. Years later, first in 1784 and again in 1786, Lynch petitioned the General Assembly of Virginia for a charter to establish a town on the bluffs above the ferry upon land Lynch had inherited from an older brother. The 1786 petition was granted and the town of Lynchburg was founded. Lynch freed his own slaves during his lifetime and consistently supported the antislavery movement.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, John (1740-1820) Lynchburg, Virginia 1740 births 1820 deaths American slave owners American city founders American people of Irish descent People from Albemarle County, Virginia