Lord of Welbourn Hall
John Peyton Dulany de Butts, Esq.
In 1840, John Peyton Dulany de Butts, at the age of 3, became the lord of the manor of Welbourn Hall, in Lincolnshire, England. The heir-at-law of his great-grandaunt, Millicent Welby Ridghill of Welbourn Hall, he inherited a substantial estate. Still a minor, his affairs were managed by his grandfather, guardian, and namesake, John Peyton Dulany, from the family's home in Middleburg, Virginia, called "Welbourne," named in honor of the senior John's wife, Mary Ann Welby de Butts who was born at Welbourn Hall in Lincolnshire.
Like their Welby cousins in England, the de Butts / Dulany family of Maryland and Virginia were a notable family. John Peyton Dulany de Butts' great-grandparents were Benjamin Tasker Dulany (grandson of Maryland provincial governor Benjamin Tasker) and Elizabeth French, goddaughter of the first President of the United States, George Washington. Elizabeth's father passed while she was still a minor, and she became the ward of George Washington, living with the family for a time at Mount Vernon. Washington gave Elizabeth away to Ben Dulany on the couple's wedding day.
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The half-Arabian stallion called "Blueskin," the gray horse ridden by George Washington during the American Revolutionary War, and the horse most featured in paintings of Washington, was a gift from Ben and Elizabeth Dulany. At the end of the war, Washington returned Blueskin to Elizabeth with his thanks, noting he wished the horse appeared like she'd remembered, "Marks of antiquity have supplied the place of those beauties with which this horse abounded—in his better days."
Blueskin was the start of the family's indelible link to equestrianism. In 1853, John Peyton Dulany de Butts' uncle, Colonel Richard Henry Dulany of Welbourne in Middleburg, Virginia, founded the Upperville Colt & Horse Show. It is the oldest horse show in America. Colonel Dulany created the annual event to showcase and improve local breeding stock in Northern Virginia. Colonel Dulany continued to run the show until his death in 1906. The show has occupied the same scenic spot since its inception 171 years ago; under the shady oak trees of Grafton Farm, near Upperville, Virginia.
Today, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show has a top AA rating and is considered one of the most prestigious horse shows in the United States. It spans seven days and showcases over two thousand horse and rider combinations. It has been named the "Horse Show of the Year" by the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame and the Virginia Horse Show Association. The prize list includes classes in breeding, hunters, and jumpers, and entries range from local children to leading Olympic and Show Jumping World Cup horses and riders.
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Legacy of the Manorial Lordship
John Peyton Dulany de Butts, Esq. married his second cousin (not uncommon for the period), Nannie Hunter Dulany in 1865. She was the daughter of Colonel Daniel French Dulany, aide-de-camp to Governor Francis Pierpont of Virginia. The couple eventually settled at the family farm neighbouring Welbourne in Middleburg, Virginia, called The Anchorage, known today as Catesby Farm. They had 14 children.
The manorial lordship of Welbourn Hall title is still with the family, held by one of the great-great-grandchildren of John and Nannie de Butts.