Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 3, 1993                   TAG: 9312030216
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: SUSAN TREMBLAY THE FREE LANCE-STAR
DATELINE: WARSAW (AP)                                LENGTH: Medium

17TH-CENTURY ESTATE IS MISSING ONLY ONE THING

Their home, on 27 acres overlooking the Rappahannock River on the Northern Neck, is not exactly easy to find.

But the Bonars haven't been lonely. At least once a month, strangers appear at the doorstep of their 17th century estate, Indian Banks. They ask for a look around, maybe a tour. One woman even wanted a brick as a souvenir.

It's not the Bonars the visitors want to see - it's the house. Built in 1699, it is the ancestral home of the Glascocks, a family of wealthy tobacco farmers who mingled with the country's founding fathers.

"The story of the family is the story of the history of the country," said Larry Glassco, a descendant who has written two books about the family.

The Glascock family is one of the oldest in Virginia, said Glassco, a retired Presbyterian minister who lives in Fredericksburg.

"If you follow the family history, you find that they knew everyone famous" from the Washingtons and Lees to Abraham Lincoln, he said.

The family bought the land in 1652. The current home was built 47 years later by George or Thomas Glascock, Glassco said. The home remained in the family until it was sold in 1822.

The plantation was named Indian Banks because it was part of the land where the Morraughtaownas Indians lived when settlers first moved to Jamestown in 1607, Glassco wrote in his book.

Captain John Smith, the English settler credited with founding Jamestown, wrote of being entertained by the tribe that lived at Indian Banks, Glassco said.

Now, the Bonars do the entertaining, relishing their roles as caretakers of the historic family homestead.

Although they were unaware of the home's family ties when they bought the estate, they have since read Glassco's books and enjoy retelling some family fables.

For instance, according to some family members and neighbors, a tunnel once connected the home to nearby Lancaster Creek, Joy Bonar said. Though she and her husband never found remnants of it, some neighbors think they remember it from when they were children.

"In the 1700s, I imagine a way of escaping pirates or possibly Indians would've been worthwhile," she said. "There may well have been a tunnel, but I can't say we've seen one."

There are a few puzzles about the estate.

"Nobody knows of a Glascock burying ground, yet they lived here 170 years," Joy Bonar said.

The couple rarely has warning that a Glascock is coming to visit. Once, Bob Bonar discovered a man standing in the front hall, looking for a tour guide.

The couple can appreciate and understand people being interested in their past.

"It's typical of all the old families. Genealogy is very, very popular," Joy Bonar said.

Before moving to Indian Banks, the Bonars lived in an 18th century log cabin near Duke University in Durham, N.C., where Bob Bonar was a biochemistry professor.

The Bonars said Indian Banks is especially livable.

"It's not a grand house; it's a plantation house, it's comfortable," Joy Bonar said. The home has the sun in the winter and the breeze from the water in the summer, she said.

The home is a Virginia Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The first floor has 10-foot ceilings, and the original part of the home has two chimneys for six fireplaces. The staircase and floors are original.

Still, the Bonars find that the house lacks one thing: proximity to their grandchildren. So, Bonars they have put the home on the market for $599,000 so they can move closer to their family.