[SUBMITTED PHOTO]This is an oil painting of Colonel William Christian (1743-1786) in the Frontier Gallery of the Botetourt County Museum. It was done by G.V.H. Kneale of the Isle of Man in 1976. Colonel Christian was a Continental soldier, militiaman and politician who served in the American Revolution. His parents were Israel Christian and Elizabeth Starte who donated land for the establishment of Fincastle. In the mid-1760s Christian worked in Patrick Henry’s law office and married his sister, Anne. They lived in Botetourt County and then Fincastle County when it was formed. He represented Fincastle County in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1773-1775 and was a signatory to the Fincastle Resolutions. The Town of Christiansburg, Va., was named in his honor.
