The Red Green's of Culpeper - 1710 to 1870

Robert Duff Green & Eleanor Dunn 1710-1748 (38 Years)

Liberty Hall’s story began in Northamptonshire England, in Green’s Norton with Robert Green. He was the youngest son in a rather healthy family of strong, tall men; so was unlikely to move up the inheritance chain and was in need of opportunities. Fortunately for Robert, while his family had noticeably healthy genes, they also had great connections to the Court, (including his 5th Cousin Katherine Parr – the only wife Henry VIII actually liked) and his father William was a member of King William III’s Royal Bodyguard. To be in the Royal Bodyguard one must be strong, healthy and over 6 feet tall; so not just a vanity Court position. So young Robert became a colonial landholder at just 15 years of age in 1710.

Robert came to the new world with his Uncle, Sir William Duff, a Scottish Quaker. We also know that Uncle Duff lived a stricter lifestyle than Robert, a traditional Anglican, which caused Robert (only 17 upon his arrival) to quickly seek out his own life independent from his Uncle.

Legend has it that Robert named his first parcel of land, this plantation, “Liberty Hall” because it was a place at which “A man could be at his liberty...” We assume he might also have added, under his breath, “from Uncle Duff.”

Robert marries Eleanor Dunn in 1722 and they begin to build the foundation of Liberty Hall that remains strong today.

Robert and Eleanor have a successful life; Robert serves as a Capt. in the Orange County Militia, as vestry man for St. Mark’s Parish, and he was also a member of the House of Burgess, a Justice of the Peace and Sheriff for Orange County. They have 7 healthy sons that all made it to adulthood and produce 40k+ descendants; many taking after the Green family line in being strong, healthy, tall as well as inheriting their mother’s flaming red hair; thus earning the nickname “The Red Green’s of Culpeper.”

John Green & Susanna Blackwell 1748-1793 (45 years)

John is well known to history as a member of the House of Burgesses (1769), Colonel of the 10th Virginia Volunteers and Commander of the 1st Company of Culpeper Minute Men and as an original member of the Society of Cincinnati. Upon the death of his brother, William (Robert Sr. eldest son) in 1764, John was elected as Church Warden and Vestry Men for the St. Mark’s Parish. In 1756 join marries Susanna Blackwell and they take over the main house Liberty Hall.

In 1774 he was with Hancock Taylor surveying in Kentucky when they were attacked by Indians in Madison County, killing most of the surveying party. John entered military service on September 4, 1775 as a Captain in the Virginia 1st Regiment, was promoted to Colonel and served until 1783. On October 21, 1776 he was severely wounded in battle when shot through the shoulder, which he reports in his 1780 Pension request restricted his movement so that he was no longer able to put on his jacket without assistance. His pension, of 100 pounds per year, is granted on January 1, 1786 using his current title as Esquire and late Colonel of the 6th Virginia Regiment.

John also had a brood of sons (5) and a single daughter with his wife Susanna Blackwell, whom he married in 1755. John also served as guardian for his brother Duff Green’s children (Elizabeth and Thomas) who were orphaned in 1771. 7 children raised at Liberty Hall during this period of time. Unfortunately for John, his wife and his 3 eldest sons preceded him in death – William (died at sea) in 1779, Robert (in Culpeper) in 1789 and John (in a duel at Valley Forge) in 1778. John passed away at Liberty Hall on December 2, 1793 at 60 years of age. On April 23, 1931 John is one of the first to be re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery's Revolutionary War section. He is distinguished there for his service to our county, but also holds the honor of bring the “longest dead” in the cemetery.

Moses Green & Frances Richards 1793 – 1844 (54 years)

Like his father, Moses Green was both a military and public figure. He commanded the 2nd Elite Corps of Virginia Militia, served in the Virginia legislature, and retired as Adjutant General for the Army of Virginia following the War of 1812. He also continued the family’s long connection to St. Mark’s Parish as an elected vestryman. After the death of his wife, Frances Richards Green, Moses transferred Liberty Hall to his son Archibald Magill Green, but remained closely tied to the property and its affairs.

The children of Moses and Frances helped broaden Liberty Hall’s place in Virginia life. Their son Thomas Green became a prominent lawyer and he established Fauquier White Sulphur Springs, where the Virginia Legislature relocated during the cholera outbreak of 1849. Their daughter Julia married General Bernard Peyton, who later acquired Farmington Plantation near Charlottesville, now the Farmington Country Club.

In this generation, Liberty Hall’s story expanded from Culpeper prominence into a wider world of politics, law, military leadership, and Virginia society.

Archibald Magill Green & Margaret/Eleanor Farish 1825-1844 (19 years)

Archibald Magill Green, known as A.M., was the last direct Green descendant to hold Liberty Hall before it passed from the family. He graduated from West Point, served as an officer in the United States Navy, practiced law with his brother Thomas Green, served in the Virginia legislature, and in 1842 was appointed U.S. Consul to the Republic of Texas. In 1844 he was named United States Diplomatic Agent to Texas, but died in Galveston just days later of yellow fever.

His private life was just as remarkable. A.M. first married Margaret Farish, who died young. He then fell in love with her younger sister, Eleanor Finley Farish, but Virginia law still forbade a man from marrying his deceased wife’s sister. Rather than give her up, A.M. married Eleanor in Maryland in 1836, left Virginia for a time, and returned after the law was changed. The two were married again at Liberty Hall in 1837.

A.M. and Eleanor had four children tied to Liberty Hall: Moses Magill Green, John Archibald Green, Rebecca Finley Green Parr, and Fannie Richards Green Gilkeson. Moses Magill served in the 13th Virginia and the Black Horse Cavalry and went on to serve in the Virginia legislature. John Archibald also rode with the Black Horse and later went to Texas. Rebecca remained closely tied to the place, and her obituary even claimed she was the last Green to own the historic estate. Fannie married Frank McFarland Gilkeson and their children established many of the social and historical societies in Culpeper.

A.M.’s life was brief, but anything but ordinary. Soldier, lawyer, legislator, diplomat, and at the center of a family story bold enough to help change Virginia law, he stands as one of the most colorful figures in Liberty Hall’s history.

Eleanor Farish Green Tate 1844 - 1876 (34 years)

After A.M.’s death, Eleanor Farish Green did not simply preserve Liberty Hall as a widow— she ran it like a business enterprise. AM had already begun leasing parts of the farm by 1838, using tenant farmers and businessmen to keep the livestock and mill operations working, and after 1844 Eleanor remained the force holding the estate together. Liberty Hall stayed under direct Green control through her children until she finally sold it in 1876.

During Eleanor’s years, Liberty Hall also served as a corporate headquarters as much as a family seat. Robert C. Stanard leased the house and land, and the main parlor he chartered the Hazel River Navigation Company in 1849. The Hall is also used for annual corporate meetings for the Fauquier White Sulphur Springs, where members of the family were living and investing during the same period.

Eleanor sets up her her daughter Frannie and son-in-law Frank McFarland Gilkeson to manage the plantation. Frank and Fannie raised a large and accomplished family connected to Culpeper and beyond, including William Irvine Gilkeson, who became a noted Norfolk attorney, and Berkeley Gilkeson Calfee — “Lovie” — who helped organize the Culpeper Minute Men chapter of the DAR, founded the Culpeper Garden Club, and spent years gathering Green family descendants back to Liberty Hall for reunions and picnics. Those gatherings were carried on with the help of Alice Ratrie Stark, Berkeley’s friend and sister-in-law through the Ratrie connection, creating a direct bridge between the last Green household at Liberty Hall and the Ratrie Stark years that followed.

Liberty Hall Grows with its various Caretakers

Rutherfoord - 1876 to 1891 (15 years)

Thomas Spotswood Rutherfoord & Harriet Downman Hamilton

Thomas assumed ownership of Liberty Hall in 1876 from Eleanor Green, which marks the end of the 166 years of direct ownership by the Red Greens - however, both Thomas and his future wife, Harriet, are related to the Greens through marriages and are district relatives of the current Coleman family through various lines.

Just 8 months after purchasing Liberty Hall, he married Harriett Downman Hamilton, daughter of Lavinia Yates Downman and George Hamilton Jr. – both prominent residents of Culpeper. Their four children were all born and raised at Liberty Hall: Roberta, Thomas, Janet, Julian and Isabella.

The young couple rebuilt the manor house after a fire in 1861 and were able to salvage much of the original wood frame (East Indian Mahogany and Heart of Pine) of the house and used that to plank the interior floors of the house. The 3-room basement of the main house is original and was undamaged in the fire, built in the early 1700’s with 3-foot-thick stone walls.

Thomas's grain business was successful, but he quickly incurs debt while expanding the plantations industries and by 1888 he has fallen behind on all payments and his creditors force the sale of Liberty Hall at auction. (see bottom note)

Thomas Rutherfoord - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rutherfoord-104

Harriet Hamilton - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hamilton-34713

* On May 31, 1890, M.G. Hatcher purchased Liberty Hall (then 544 acres) at public auction for $10.15 per acre, a total cash price of $5,521.60. Rutherfoord disputed the auction claiming that the price significantly undervalued Liberty Hall and accused the auctioneers of malfeasance. Frank Gilkenson (who managed LH for Eleanor Green) testified on his behalf claiming that Liberty Hall was worth twice that and was the best piece of property in the county other than H.E. Stark's farm. (later the Stark's assume ownership of Liberty Hall)

A composite from Actual Photos of Thomas and Harriet

Ratrie Family - 1891 to 1913 (22 years)

Henry Harrison Ratrie & Alice Sarah Foley

Henry & Alice Ratrie purchase the plantation from Hatcher after the auction sale is finalized in 1891. The Ratrie’s used the Hall as a show place (in addition to raising cattle) and were very active in the social scene, hosting frequent gatherings reported in period newspapers, during the close of the 19th century. They also expanded the property lines to encompass most of the land across from the Muddy Run, which is now Carter Lane.

They added the carriage house with loft apartments as servant’s quarters, gardening shed attached as well as a larger kitchen off the formal dining room. They likely built the red wood barn for hay and winter feed storage for their cattle. Sadly, both Henry & Alice died just prior to their daughter’s marriage to Robert Stark at the Hall in February 1910. (Alice died in October 1909 and Henry on Christmas Day 1909.) They raised 4 children here; Elizabeth, Turner, Alice and Henry.

Turner Ratrie was well known as an expert cattleman raising high quality stock at his farm Auburn, which was carried on by his descendants for another century. Their daughters, Alice and Elizabeth lived here and managed the plantation after their parent’s death.

Henry Ratrie - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ratrie-6

Alice Foley - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Foley-5850

Stark Family 1913 - 1942 (29 years)

Robert Caleb Stark & Alice Sophrenia Ratrie

Alice Ratrie Stark had grown up at Liberty Hall, and when she and Robert Caleb Stark became its owners, the Hall remained in the hands of a family deeply tied to its earlier story. The Starks carried forward the same traditions of hospitality, stock raising, and local connection that had shaped Liberty Hall under the Greens and the Ratries before them. Alice’s sister Elizabeth also continued to live at the Hall, making this period one of strong family continuity rather than change.

During the Stark years, Liberty Hall continued to serve not only as a working farm, but also as a place where family memory was preserved. Alice provided information used in the 1937 WPA report on the property, helping record the appearance and history of the Hall for the next generation. The house itself retained the broad, welcoming character that had long defined it, while the family continued the tradition of gathering descendants and friends there.

The Starks also helped keep Liberty Hall connected to the wider network of Green descendants. Family reunions and picnics continued at the Hall during their ownership, especially through the efforts of Berkeley Gilkeson Calfee and the extended Gilkeson and Ratrie connections. In this way, the Stark years were not an interruption in Liberty Hall’s story, but a continuation of the family traditions and relationships that had long made the place important.

Robert Stark - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stark-6584

Alice Ratrie - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ratrie-7

Carrington Family 1942 - 1964 (22 years)

Paul Williams Carrington & Edna Muhlmaster

Paul and Edna brought a very different background to Liberty Hall. They came from the New York and Greenwich world rather than old Culpeper lines, and by the time they arrived here they were already established adults, with grown daughters beginning lives of their own in the Northeast. Paul was born in Barbados and later built his business career in New York, where he worked as a manager in the Union Bleachery textile mills. Together they made Liberty Hall their Virginia home while still keeping ties to the city and industry.

While the farm continued as a agricultural and hospitality center - the Carrington's invested in it as a living estate and left a lasting mark on the look of Liberty Hall. They expanded, adjoining the Gaines tract north of the Hazel River and added the front columns and other changes to the house, expanded the kitchen, connected the former servant’s quarters to the main house. They changed the approach to the house from fording the Muddy Run to instead crossing the Mt. Zion's bridge and planted the trees lining the drive. In their years, Liberty Hall took on much of the appearance it still carries today — shaped by owners who adored the old style of homes and who clearly meant to keep Liberty Hall grand, useful, and enduring.

Paul Carrington - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Carrington-2127

Edna Muhlmaster - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Muhlmaster-1

Pulvermann Family 1964 (22 years)

John Albert Pulvermann“Duckie” & Elisabeth Logan

John and Elisabeth brought Liberty Hall into a more modern era, but did it with real respect for the place. John had come to America from Hamburg and built a life through business, travel, and discipline.

Elisabeth came from a very different world. Born in Newark in 1914, she was the daughter of James Parmelee Logan, who worked for the Newark Evening News and served as editor of the Newark Sunday Call. She grew up in Montclair in an affluent Scottish-Irish family with Revolutionary roots, studied at the University of Michigan, and brought to Liberty Hall the polish of someone shaped by both journalism and society.

Elisabeth was not simply decorative. She had worked as a society editor for a New Jersey newspaper in the 1940s and, by the 1960s, was working in Virginia as a stockbroker — a rare and striking path for a woman of her generation. Together, she and John brought style, ambition, and a strong love of horses to Liberty Hall, making it a natural fit for the sporting life of hunt country.

Under the Pulvermanns, Liberty Hall began to take on much of its modern agricultural form. John was a careful planner, and his work in forestry, soil conservation, and farm layout helped organize the property in ways that still shape it today. The family raised their children here, adding another generation of life to the house, and their daughter Betty Lou later drew the pencil sketch of Liberty Hall that became the image on the front gate sign.

John Pulvermann - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pulvermann-1

Elisabeth Logan - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Logan-11280

Pulvermann Family 1964-1976 (12 years)

John Albert Pulvermann & Elisabeth Logan

John Pulvermann - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pulvermann-1

Elisabeth Logan - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Logan-11280

Sullivan Family 1976-1992 (16 Years)

Gerald “Ducky” & Grace Sullivan

Gerald “Ducky” Sullivan brought a builder’s eye to Liberty Hall. A Marine veteran and longtime general contractor in the Fredericksburg area, he belonged to that practical postwar generation that knew how to repair, strengthen, and keep a property useful. Grace brought her own mark to the place through gardening and the life of the house, and together they carried Liberty Hall into a more horse-centered era.

During the Sullivan years, Liberty Hall became more fully an equestrian property. They added the indoor arena, built the 12-stall stable, and laid out the cross-country course that shaped the farm for the next generation of riders. Grace was known for her tulips, which still return near the summer kitchen, and local memory ties the Sullivans to the hunt breakfasts and horse life that made Liberty Hall an active part of the surrounding community.

Hammond 1992 - 2003 (11 years)

Marsyl Stokes Monthomerie-Charmington Hammond

Marsyl was born in Washington, D.C., to East Coast socialite parents, was educated in England, and was named Newport’s Deb of the Year in 1939. In 1940, she married Robert Victor Campbell “Robin” Montgomerie-Charrington in Cairo. Robin entered Formula 3 racing in 1950, and Marsyl herself raced that same year in the Ladies Race at Brands Hatch.

Her second marriage tied her to another prominent American family. She married Ogden H. Hammond Jr. (1912–1976), son of Ogden Haggerty Hammond, U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1925 to 1929, and Mary Picton Stevens of the Stevens family.

Before coming to Liberty Hall, Marsyl spent about twenty years at Foxhill Stud near Middleburg, where she bred Thoroughbreds for both flat racing and steeplechasing.

Marsyl’s mark was not only stylish, but lasting. Shortly before her death, she placed Liberty Hall under conservation easement through the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, helping protect the land itself from being broken apart or fundamentally changed.

Marsyl at the 1950 Ladies Formula 1

Kearns Family 2003-2018 (15 years)

Clifford Kearns & Beth Jones

Clifford and Beth brought Liberty Hall into the twenty-first century with deep roots in Virginia’s horse, farm, and preservation world. Beth was the daughter of Tommy Lee Jones, longtime Master of Casanova Hunt, and Jane Jones, who served as president of the Virginia Gold Cup. She came to Liberty Hall out of one of the best-known hunting and horse families in the region, and that background showed in the way the property was used and improved.

The Kearns family also stood in an older Culpeper tradition of civic and historical leadership. Clifford’s mother, Jane Kearns, was active in the DAR and hosted meetings both at Liberty Hall and at her own home, Redwood. She was honored at Liberty Hall by the local DAR Chapter with her 50th-year member award.

During their ownership, the Kearns strengthened into a stabling and boarding business, giving it a active source of income in addition to their mortgage and real estate ventures. They reinforced the old red barn, added tack and wash rooms, finished the loft quarters, added the large equipment and shop buildings and a commercial walk-in freezer for the beef operation. Under Clifford and Beth, Liberty Hall remained not just a historic house, but a living farm shaped by people who understood both its practical use.

Beth's Horses Looking Out Breakfast

Coleman Family 2018-Onward

Daniel Nathan Coleman & Sarah Haynes Robinson

Daniel and Sarah became owners of Liberty Hall in May 2018, bringing with them a life already built around cattle, horses, polo, business, and service. Their background in the West was real but practical: business and finance as well as ranching, horse-making, and building family life around dedication to service. By the time they came to Virginia, they were looking for one property that could hold together the things that mattered most to them — cattle, horses, polo, children, history, and community. Liberty Hall did exactly that.

Sarah’s maternal line runs from Bardstown, Kentucky, back to the original Green family. Robert Green and Eleanor Dunn Green are her ninth great-grandparents, and she descends through three of their sons: John, James, and Nicholas. That return of the Green descendants to Liberty Hall gives the present chapter of the farm an unusual continuity with its earliest one.

Under the Coleman's, Liberty Hall has taken on a new life in Virginia. They built an operating polo club around the indoor arena, developed field polo along the banks of the Muddy Run, and in August 2025 hosted the Colonial Allies Challenge Cup in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Culpeper Minute Men. They also expanded Liberty Hall’s role in agritourism through a vacation rental program, sport horse leasing and opened the property to major historical events, including Black Horse reenactments, History Day programs, annual relic hunts.

The Coleman’s are very proud to continue building upon the dreams of their ancestors and to pass on the traditions and values of New Mexico and the Western approach to life's challenges. They are hopeful that Liberty Hall will continue to be enjoyed by their descendants and the Virginia community for centuries to come. They have adopted the mission of preserving the “Memory, Method and Manner for Generations” of those yet to come.

300 years and still making history