Governor John Floyd's Grave
N 37° 38.266 W 080° 14.373
17S E 567093 N 4165897
This historic marker is located on Route 311 in Alleghany County Virginia near Sweet Springs, West Virginia.
Waymark Code: WM1QG7
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 06/24/2007
Views: 61
John Floyd was born at Floyds Station, Virginia, near what is now Louisville, Kentucky. His father was pioneer John Floyd, who was killed by Indians just 12-days prior to his sons birth. The elder Floyd’s first cousin was Charles Floyd, who was the only member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to die during expedition. After studing medicine in Pennsylvania, John Floyd moved first to Lexington, Virginia and then to Christiansburg, Virginia where he practiced medicine and served as a Justice of the Peace. He maried Letithia Preston in 1804, who was the daughter of William and Susannah Smith Preston and the sister of Francis Preston. The couple had 12-children including John Buchanan Floyd, (1806-1863), who served as Governor of Virginia, and Secretary of War under President Buchanan.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Floyd moved his family to a new home near present-day Blackburg, which is today located on the campus of Virginia Tech. In 1813, he was appointed surgeon of Lt. Col. James McDowell's Flying Camp in the Virginia militia. Floyd was then commissioned as major of the militia on April 20, 1814 and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general of the 17th Brigade of Virginia militia. He served until he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1814. During this time, he moved his family to "Thorn Spring", a large plantation located in Montgomery County, Virginia.
Floyd served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1814-1815 and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1817 and served through 1829. He was elected Governor of Virginia in 1830 While still in office John Floyd suffered his first stroke but was able to complete his term which ended on April 16, 1834. A second stroke claimed his life on August 17, 1837 near Sweet Springs, Virginia (present day Monroe County West Virginia).
Governor John Floyd is buried in an unmarked grave in a small cemetery near this historic marker in Sweet Springs, West Virginia. The cemetery where Governor Floyd is buried is located on a hill just south and west of this marker. The cemeterly is on private property and is accessed by a dirt road that runs in front of the old Bath House at the Old Sweet Spring Resort. It is about 1/2 mile off of Route 311.
The text of the marker reads:
GOVERNOR JOHN FLOYD’S GRAVE
“Just over the state line in West Virginia is the grave of physician and politician John Floyd. He was born in Jefferson County, Virginia (now Kentucky), on 24 Apr. 1783. He married Laetitia Preston in 1804 and received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1806. After serving in the War of 1812, he was elected to Virginia's General Assembly in 1814. In 1817, he was voted into Congress and remained there until 1829. An advocate of westward expansion, Floyd in 1821 introduced the first bill for organizing the Oregon territory. He served as Virginia's governor from 1830 to 1834. Floyd died in 1837.”
Marker Number: KH-1
Marker Title: Governor John Floyd's Grave
Marker Location: Route 311 at the Virginia - West Virginia State Line
County or Independent City: Alleghany County
Web Site: [Web Link]
Marker Program Sponsor: Department of Historic Resources
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