The Family Tree Searcher

Volume 7 - Number 1 June 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Editor’s Page .......................................................................................................................2

By Roger C. Davis

Founders of the Westville Christian Church of Mathews County, Virginia .................3

By L. Roane Hunt

The Eastville—Westville Mystery, Connections between Mathews/Gloucester

and Northhampton Counties ....................................................................................11

By Gayle Mandell

Brock’s Country Store —The Story Behind the Store ......................................................16

By Roger C. Davis

Stories of Gloucester County Recalled by Charles Kerns, Sr. ...................................... 22

Compiled by Roger C. Davis

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship ......................................................................... 24

By Cathy Williamson

Old House People - A Poem .................................................................................................. 30

By Pat Royal Perkinson

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton ..................................................................... 31

By Robert R. Harper

Taliaferro Family of Gloucester County, Virginia ............................................................38

By L. Roane Hunt

Gloucester Mortality Schedule Taken with 1850 Census ...............................................43

Submitted by Blondell Whiting

Images from Past Meetings.................................................................................................... 48

Photographs by Roger C. Davis

Surname Files .................................................................................................Inside back cover

Visit the Web Site for Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia at

http://www.rootsweb.com/~vaggsv/

Vol. 7, No. 1 2 June 2003

The Editor’s Page — Stories of Mathews and

Gloucester County, Virginia

Our constant search for clues to our ancestor's past can best be found in church,

census and military records. Early community involvement and neighborhood

relationships were reflected in church rosters and parish registries. These surname

relationships are further reinforced by the county census records that help define family

interactions, wealth, and proximity of children (descendants) to those founding families.

Roane Hunt’s probing analysis of the Westville Christian Church members and 1800’s

census returns of Gloucester County is an informative example of this church -census data

relationship.

Gayle Mandell’s article further explores the migrations

between counties and the frequency of surnames as family

members married their neighbors. She investigates the Williams

and Gayle connections among others.

History and family are combined in Roger Davis’ article

about Brock’s Store at Wicomico and Woodrow Ambrose’s tenure

as postmaster. Robert Harper uses archaeology to search for the

site of John Clayton’s plantation and house.

Our Society enjoyed Cathy Williamson’s talk on “Finding

Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship.” Roger Davis has compiled

information from her notes for our distant members. He has also

assembled some of the stories recalled by Charles Kerns, Sr.,

about early Gloucester when “Charlie” talked to the Society in

January.

Pat Perkinson shares a poem with those “Preservationists” among us who enjoy old

houses and all the rewards of living in them as well as the agonies of fixing them up. Her

sense of humor is refreshing!

A wealth of family genealogy material about Gloucester and Mathews families still

remains hidden in boxes and attics. Your editor encourages you to dig into this storehouse

of pictures and family information and turn it into an informative article for the Family

Tree Searcher. Your grandchildren will be delighted!

Roger Caldwell Davis, Editor

The Family Tree Searcher

olddad@inna.net

Society Web Site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~vaggsv/

Roger C. Davis

Vol. 7, No. 1 3 June 2003

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

of Mathews County, Virginia

by L. Roane Hunt

Introduction

The Westville Christian Church was established on December 12, 1858, and the congregation

moved into their present building on November 20, 1859. The building stands as an important land-

mark in the history of Mathews County, set back from the main street of Mathews Courthouse with a

front yard and brick walkway that leads to its front door, as shown in the photograph below. The

photo-inset shows its sign near the street, which displays its current activities. The church helped

establish two other Christian Churches in Mathews County: Oak Grove at Mobjack and Holly Grove

at North. In 1943, Holly Grove united with Westville, and Oak Grove and Westville began a joint

pastorate. Westville maintained its distinction among the larger denominations of the county, which

included the Methodist, the Baptist, and the Episcopal Church derived from the Anglican Church of

the Colonial Kingston Parish.

The founders

of Westville Chris-

tian Church in-

cluded many repre-

sentatives from

prominent Mathews

families, such as

Billups, Bohannon,

and Green. In the

early 1990s, the

church provided a

typed version of

their “permanent

record of member-

ship” that included

its charter member-

ship.

1

Like many

Photograph of Westville Christian Church taken in the

Summer of 2002. Built in 1859, it is tucked back off the

main street in Mathews Courthouse beside the newly

renovated public library. Its sign in the foreground

describes the church’s activities.

Vol. 7, No. 1 4 June 2003

such transcribed documents, this record was subject to errors of spelling interpretation as the hand-

written record was typed. Also, in some cases, it is difficult to make positive identification of

individual members. A great tool in this work was the publication of the 1860 Mathews census,

taken within two years after the church charter was established. Fortunately, the recent publication

of the 1860 census provides a complete index that includes every individual for direct comparison

with the church membership.

2

The present article attempts to describe the families involved in the formation of this church.

Also, to understand the personal philosophy of these founding families, an overview of the Baptist

controversy that produced this church is given. This background information is intended to aid in

our understanding of our ancestors who either fought to stay within the existing churches or chose

to form new churches. It should be noted that churches that continue over long time periods do not

necessarily retain the doctrine on which they were established, even when distinct formal creeds and

confessions are adopted. This means that the old issues associated with churches mentioned in this

article should not necessarily be considered the doctrines of the present churches.

Local Church History

The weekly church bulletin of Westville states: “The founding members, influenced by the

teachings of Alexander Campbell, organized Westville Christian Church…” Alexander Campbell

came to America from Scotland and led a national movement, first within the Baptist Church, and

then the Disciples of Christ. His movement in Eastern Virginia was led by Peter Ainslie who began

his pastorate with Mathews Baptist Church in 1821.

3

Subsequently, he pastored in Gloucester

4

and

York Counties until he was dismissed from the Dover Baptist Association of Virginia in 1832.

5

According to the history of Mathews Baptist Church, he continued his influence in Mathews County,

and many of their members who aligned with Peter Ainslie were dismissed. The Church itself

suffered probation for the next three years.

6

This disciplinary action of Mathews Baptist Church precipitated the formation of a new church

consisting of the “Reformers” that were excluded from the Baptist Church. In 1835, Ephesus Church

was organized at the “Glebe” home of Joseph Bohannon, son-in-law of Peter Ainslie. By 1837, this

church had built the Ephesus Meeting House at Hyco Corner in Mathews Courthouse.

7

The Westville

Christian Church Constitution states that in 1858, the Ephesus Church was in a “divided and

distracted state” and that they were “totally and hopelessly disorganized.”

8

What were the issues that produced this national movement and the local efforts to protect old

churches and to form new churches? The answer to this question is relative to our interest because

it defines the philosophy of Baptists, and to some degree, the Methodists.

9

The membership of

these two churches represented a large portion of Mathews County. The driving issue for Alexander

Campbell and his followers was for the unity of all Christian churches.

10

The issues that resulted

were the diminished emphasis upon the work of the Holy Spirit of God and the increased emphasis

upon the ability of humans to intellectually decide to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. In

the nineteenth century, this offended Baptists because of their teaching of God’s intervention in the

faith of mankind. Also, it offended the Methodists of that day who emphasized the work of the

Holy Spirit to stir the emotion of those seeking the holy life. Therefore, the founders of these new

churches, including Westville of Mathews, tended to be those who believed that churches should

appeal to the intellect or human reason to assess the Scriptures and make the proper decision to

obey God’s command. They did not expect supernatural solutions or intervention by God to cause a

proper human response. (A full discussion of these issues is far beyond the scope of this article.)

As a result of this great debate, Westville Christian Church was established as part of a new

denomination, and it was the popular choice of intellectuals and professionals, including doctors,

lawyers, educators, merchants and farmers with large estates. This denomination, known as the

Disciples of Christ, did not reach the status of the major denominations, I believe, because the major

denominations adopted much of what Alexander Campbell and the new denomination were

advocating, thus diminishing the differences.

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 5 June 2003

Founders of Westville

Who were the founders of Westville Christian Church? The first table lists the fifteen charter

members, five men and ten women. The alphabetical list of members shows the multiple represen-

tations of prominent families of Mathews. Individuals are identified primarily with the aid of the

1860 census data. Additional assistance came from general genealogical data and some notations in

the church records. Each individual is described by their profession, real and personal wealth, and

slave holdings as provided by the census record. The professional status for many individuals

corresponds to that of the head of household under which that person was listed. The five men

were merchants and farmers of substantial real estate holdings. The women were the wives of

doctors and a county official, as well as other merchants and prominent farmers. The total wealth

of the households of charter members shows a substantial portion of the total populace wealth.

The second table lists the members that were added to the church before the end 1858.

Thirty-three additional members are listed, and many of them were the spouses and families of the

charter members. The “(E)” is used to denote the members joining the church, who had been

members of the Ephesus Church. The relationships and the professional status are provided from

the census data. The wealth and slave holdings listed in the second table are the amounts not listed

for the charter members of the first table. The wealth associated with 48 members enrolled in the

first month explains their ability to finance, in less than a year, the construction of the main church

building that stands today. The 1860 census lists the church building of “Disciples” to

accommodate 400 persons. The professions associated with the additional members include many

more merchants and farmers, and at least two teachers. Surveying the surnames of these tables, we

recognize many prominent families that made significant contributions to the development and

prosperity of Mathews County.

Surname First Profession Real Personal Slaves

Armistead Clarissa (Barnum) wf of John N. Armistead, Merchant $1,300 $5,200

Barnum Elijah

Merchant & Farmer, husband of

Clarissa Billups

$15,000 $75,000 41

Billups Esther

Billups Susan A. $10,000 13

Bohannon John, Jr. Farmer $5,500 $4,000 5

Bohannon Mary Eliza wf of Edmond W. Bohannon, Farmer $4,000 $15,000 29

Browne Julia A. wf of Christopher J. Browne, Farmer $16,000 $16,000 21

Garnett Sarah M. (Barnum) wf of Dr. James H. Garnett, Physician $5,000 $20,000 28

Green George W. Farmer $2,000 $2,000 5

Green John W. Coach Maker $100

Green William Farmer $1,000 $100

Hudgins Julia (Tod) [sic] wf of Holder Hudgins II, Farmer $30,000 $50,000 61

Miller Emory (James) wf of Shepard G. Miller, Clerk of Court $30,000 $44,000 37

Moore Mary C. Seamstress

Shultice Mary (Jarvis)

wf of Dr. William Shultice, Physician &

Farmer

$80,000 $120,000 48

Totals $189,800 $361,400 288

Charter Members of Westville Christian Church

Mathews Courthouse, Virginia

December 12, 1858

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 6 June 2003

Additional Members of Westville Christian Church in 1859

Mathews Courthouse, Virginia

Surname First Profession Real Personal Slaves

Barnum Lucy A. 2nd wf of Elijah Barnum (charter member)

Billups (E) Julia 20,000 40,000 45

Billups (E) Roberta C.

Bohannon Anianna

dau of Joseph & Jane P. Ainslie Bohannon

(members)

Bohannon (E) Ebenezer Tailor & Farmer 4,300 5,760 8

Bohannon (E) Edmond W. husband of Mary Eliza Bohannon (charter

Bohannon Elizabeth

2nd wf of Americus W. Bohannon, Tailor &

Farmer

2,000 4,500

Bohannon Elizabeth (Lizzie)

dau of Edmond W. & Mary Elizabeth

Bohannon (charter member)

Bohannon Jane (Ainslie) wf of Joseph Bohannon (see below)

Bohannon (E) Joseph Tailor & Postmaster, husband of Jane Anslie 3,000 9,000 9

Bohannon Leah Catherine

dau of Joseph & Jane P. Ainslie Bohannon

(members)

Bohannon (E) Mattie L.

dau. of John & Zelica Bohannon (charter

member)

Bohannon Rebecca

dau of William & Rosamond Billups

Bohannon, Farmer

Bohannon (E) William Farmer, husband of Rosamond Billups 6,000 28,000 29

Bohannon (E) Zelica wf of John Bohannon (charter member)

Brown Ellen (Richardson) wf of William H. Brown, Teacher 10,500 8,500

Browne Christopher J. Farmer 16,000 16,000 22

Burke Sallie F. (Atkinson) wf of John J. Burke, Jr., Farmer 3,000 38,575

Fitchett Eliza G. dau. of William & S. Fitchett

Foster Esther wf of George W. Foster 1,000 30

Foster Rebecca (James)

dau of Thomas & Frances James, wf of

Baldwin Foster, Seaman

3,000 4,000

Gayle Lizzie Seamstress, widow of William H. Gayle 50

Green (E) Charlotte B. wf of George W. Green (charter member)

Green Nancy Ann wf of William Green (charter member)

Green Virginia (Hughes) John William Green (charter member)

Hudgins Nannie (Wright) wf of Thomas J. Hudgins, Farmer (See below)

Hudgins Thomas J. Farmer, son of John Lewis & Mary Anderson 10,000 13,000

Lane (E)

Mary A. H.

(Barkswell)

wf of Walter G. Lane, Sr., Hotel Keeper 15,000 13,000 24

Lane (E) Virginia V. (Billups) wf of Walter G. Lane, Jr., Merchant 2,000

Parrott Susan E. Teacher, widow 3,000 2,000

Sibley Frances (James) wf of Robert S. Sibley, Farmer 10,000 9,100

White (E) John Blacksmith 700 520 0

Williams Esther (Bohannon) Farmer, widow of Thomas Williams, 1,200 160

Total $108,700 $194,195 137

dau. of Robert & Elizabeth Billups, Farmer

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 7 June 2003

Families of the Westville Founders

The written history of Westville does not include a narrative describing the church activities of

its early years, which included about four years of the Civil War. The only indication as to the

church leadership was the list of elders that included E. Bohannon, William Bohannon, C. J. Browne,

John Green, and John White. The first pastor listed was Peter Ainslie, the son of the Peter Ainslie

that led the debate that produced this new church.

11

The church record gives us much more infor-

mation to define which families were active in those initial years of Westville Christian Church.

Billups- The Billups name is compounded by the prominent Elijah Barnum, who came from

Connecticut and married Clarissa Billups of

Mathews. He was a charter member and two of

his daughters, Clarissa and Sarah, joined their

father on this distinguished list. The first family

chart is presented for Elijah Barnum showing his

two daughters and his second wife, Lucy. The

asterisk is placed by names that are included as

members in the church record. Many of the

Billups were the children of Robert Billups,

brother of Clarissa Billups Barnum. Robert and

Clarissa were children of Christopher Billups and

Mary Sharborough Williams.

12

Many of Robert’s

children were members of Westville, and Virginia

married Walter G. Lane, Jr., who was also a mem-

ber. Christopher had another son, John, who

married a Mary Barnum, and he had two daugh-

ters that married the prominent Gloucester

citizen, Joel Hayes.

13

Two other women, Esther

and Susan A. Billups, were charter members, but I

was unable to determine their family relations.

Another Billups of interest was Hugh G. Billups,

who provided the land on which Ebenezer Baptist

Church was established in Gloucester in 1826 by

Peter Ainslie.

Bohannon- The second major family group

included as founders of Westville was the

Bohannon family, but I was unable to connect

these families. Nancy Billups was married to Dr.

John Gordon Bohannon, and at least three of their

children were included in Westville membership,

as indicated in the third set of family charts. His

sons, George W., Americus, and Dr. John G., Jr.,

and their families are listed. The family of

William B. Bohannon was also engaged in the

Westville church. His son, John, and his two

daughters and their families were very active in

the church. The families of Joseph Bohannon,

Edmond W. Bohannon, and Ebenezer Bohannon

were also fully engaged in Westville. Their ages

were such that they all could have been sons of

Dr. Bohannon or William B. Bohannon, or they

could have been nephews of these two men. Joseph Bohannon was the husband of Jane Ainslie,

daughter of Peter Ainslie, and it was their home where the first church in this movement was

Billups Family

Robert Billups, b. Apr 1, 1796, m. Sarah

Elizabeth __?__, b. Feb 17, 1801

Mary R. Billups, b. 1823

Sarah Elizabeth Billups, b. 1824, m. Joshua

Gayle, b. 1824

Martha L. Gayle,* b. 1852, m. Walter Rufus

Stoakes, b. 1847

Christopher S. Billups, b. Mar 7, 1826, m.

Martha H. __?__, b. 1849

Virginia W. Billups,* b. July 16, 1829, m. Walter

G. Lane,* b. Sept 7, 1829

Julia S. Billups,* b. Jan 21, 1832

Robert S. Billups,* b. 1835, m. Mary E. __?__,*

b. 1839

Roberta C. Billups,* b. 1838

George Thomas Billups,* 1841

Elijah Barnum,* b. 1797, m1. Clarissa Billups,

m2. Lucy __?__,* b. May 1810

Sarah M. Barnum,* b. Jan 22, 1829, m. Dr.

James H. Garnett, b. Dec 11, 1827

Clara S. Garnett,* b. 1852, m. Walter Rufus

Stoakes, b. 1847

Eva Garnett,* b. 1854

Lucy Garnett,* b. Sept 1, 1857, m. James H.

Armistead, b. Jan 27, 1854

Ruby H. Garnett,* b. 1860

Henry B. Garnett, b. Sept 6, 1862

Mary H. Garnett, b. Oct 21, 1865

Clarissa Barnum,* b. 1833, m. John N.

Armistead, b. 1821

Leavin Armistead, b. Oct 7, 1850

Dora Armistead,* b. 1852, m. A. D. Armistead,

b. 1835

* Members of Westville Christian Church

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 8 June 2003

established. In the early 1830s, she was a co-worker with her father in his participation in

temperance meetings in Middlesex when he had his farm in Gloucester and served as pastor of

Grafton Baptist Church in York County.

14

There were so many Bohannon members active in

Westville that it is difficult to distinguish between them for proper identification.

James- The children of Thomas James and Frances Lewis were key members of Westville.

Their daughter, Emory, married Dr. Shepard G. Miller, and she was one of the charter members. Her

brother, Alexander James, preached to the church prior to the Civil War. He served as an officer in

the war, and he died at sea following the war in 1867. Additional James children are included in the

next family chart, and it shows that many of the descendents were members of Westville.

Bohannon Family

William B. Bohannon, b. 1778

William Bohannon, b. 1800, m. Rosamond

Billups, b. 1805

Esther Bohannon,* b. 1801, m. Thomas

Williams

Marshall Williams,* b. 1830, m. Leah Catherine

Bohannon,* b. 1843

Thomas James Williams, 1836

John Wesley Williams,* 1836, m. Lizzie

Bohannon,* b. 1837

William Sidney Williams,* b. 1838

John Bohannon,* b. 1807, m. Zelica P. __?__,*

b. 1815

Amanda E. Bohannon, b. 1834

William P. Bohannon, b. 1836

Mary E. Bohannon,* b. 1838

Martha F. Bohannon,*b. 1840

James G. Bohannon, b. 1845

Frances J. Bohannon,* b. 1848

S. Bohannon, m. William Fitchett

Augustine Fitchett, b. 1836

Eliza G. Fitchett,* b. 1839, m. Cornelius E.

Bohannon,* b. 1840

William E. Fitchett,* b. 1841, m. Mary E.

James,* b. 1844

Dr. John Gordon Bohannon, b. 1784, m.

Nancy Billups

George W. Bohannon,* b. 1816, m. Lucy D. __?

__,* b. 1819

Aurelius P. Bohannon,* b. 1843

John W. Bohannon,* b. 1845, m. India __?__, b.

1852

Ann E. Bohannon,* b. 1848

George B. Bohannon, b. 1850

Mary G. Bohannon,* b. 1853

James H. Bohannon,* b. 1857

Americus W. Bohannon, b. 1823, m. Elizabeth

__?__,* b. 1831

Dr. John G. Bohannon,* b. 1828, m. Laura S.

__?__,* b. 1832

Richard L. Bohannon,* b. 1851

Charles G. Bohannon,* 1853

Rassan D. Bohannon,* 1855

Henry B. Bohannon,* 1858

William Bohannon,* Mar 16, 1865

Ebenezer Bohannon,* b. 1817, m. Elizabeth

__?__ , b. 1816

Cornelius E. Bohannon,* b. 1840, m. Eliza G.

Fitchett,* b. 1839

Alice Bohannon, b. 1849

Sallie B. Bohannon,* b. 1851

Fannie G. Bohannon,* b. 1854

Edmond W. Bohannon,* b. 1810, m. Mary

Elizabeth __?__,* b. 1822

Lizzie Bohannon,* b. 1837, m. John Wesley

Williams,* b. 1838

Alexander C. Bohannon, b. 1840

Joseph Bohannon,* b. 1808, m. Jane P.

Ainslie,* b. 1814

Eliza Bohannon, b. 1836

Arianna B. Bohannon,* b. 1838

Joseph E. Bohannon, b. 1840

Leah Catherine Bohannon, b. 1843, m.

Marshall Williams,* b. 1830

Christopher Bohannon,* b. 1845

Wickliff Bohannon,* b. 1849

Alice Bohannon,* 1855

* Member of Westville Christian Church

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 9 June 2003

Green- The Green family was represented by

the families of George W. Green and William

Green. They were probably related, but I was unable to determine the relationship. They were well

represented from the beginning, and their families are presented in the third set of family charts.

Three of the Green men were charter members.

Hudgins- Julia Tod Hudgins, the third wife of Houlder Hudgins II, was an important charter

member of Westville. This family was very wealthy prior to the Civil War, with ownership of

shipyards and large tracts of land in Mathews, as well as surrounding counties. They extended their

ship-building enterprise to Elizabeth City County, and owned a large tract of land, part of which

became Langley Air Force Base. This family had been leaders in the Mathews Baptist Church and

had fought to keep the church in the Dover Baptist Association when the followers of Peter Ainslie

sought to withdraw.

15

Hudgins family history claims that Houlder Hudgins II built the Mathews

Baptist Church for his brother-in-law, Thomas Muse Hunley.

16

However, the Mathews Baptist Church

history does not acknowledge this significant contribution. Actually, Houlder Hudgins II was

baptized in the Westville Christian Church at the end of the Civil War, on October 28, 1865. His

nephew, Thomas J. Hudgins, later served the church as an Elder, and his son by a previous marriage

became a member. It appears that Julia Hudgins persuaded at least a portion of the Hudgins family

to join the Reformed Baptist Church of Westville.

Mary Shultice- She is listed as a charter member, and she was the wife of Dr. William Shultice

from Fredericksburg, VA. Mary was the daughter of John D. Jarvis,

17

and her brother, John Jarvis,

married Susan Ainslie, another daughter of Peter Ainslie. This shows another family and religious

philosophy connection. It is surprising that John and Susan Jarvis were not members of the

Westville Church, since they were listed in Mathews in the 1860 census. Generally, the strong family

Green Family

George W. Green,* b. 1808, m. Charlotte B.

__?__,*

Sarah E. Green, b. 1838

Mary E. Green, b. 1842

William B. Green,* b. 1844, m. Julia D. __?__, b.

1865

George P. Green, b. 1846

Laura S. Green, b. 1848

Ann B. Green, b. 1852

John J. Green, b. 1853

Charlotte Green, b. 1854

Charles Wesley Green, b. 1854

Washington E. Green, b. 1859

William Green,* b. 1805, m. Ann Richardson,*

John W. Green,* b. July 9,1833 m. Virginia

Hughes,* b. Mar 9, 1836

Cornelia Ann Green, b. 1860

Cephas L. Green,* Sept 6, 1872

Sarah E. Green, b. 1838, m. James B. Williams,

b. 1838

Adelaid Green,* b. 1844

Mary E. Green, b. 1845, m. John W. White, b.

1840

James Family

Thomas James, b. Feb 24, 1777, m. Frances

Lewis, b. 1785

Emory James,* b. Oct 1816, m. Shepard G.

Miller, b. Sept 19, 1808

Mary Ida Miller,* b. Feb 18, 1855, m. Julius G.

Miller, b. 1840

Lucy G. Miller,* Jan 22, 1858

Alexander James,* b. Nov 8, 1817, m. Harriett

F. Miller, b. July 30, 1822

Alexander James, Jr.,* b. Feb 26, 1845, m.

Georgia Armistead,* b. Nov 22, 1852

Leonidas James,* b. Jan 7, 1820, m. Emily

Jane __?__,* b. Oct 22, 1828

Emma A. James,* b. 1851, m. Charles L.

Armistead, b. 1845

Willie A. James,* b. 1856

Rebecca James,* b. May 7, 1825, m. Baldwin

Foster, b. July 27, 1815

Lemuel James, b. June 10, 1827, m1. Maria

Anderson, m2. Columbia Williams

Mary Frances James,* b. Jan 30, 1827, m.

Robert L. Sibley,* b. Oct 12, 1812

* Member of Westville Christian Church

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 10 June 2003

ties of the church founders continued in subsequent family generations of church members. The

Shultice family moved to Goochland County, VA, according to the land tax records of 1872.

Julia A. Browne- She is listed as a charter member, and she was the wife of Christopher J.

Browne from King William County, VA. The family connection of Julia is not known to the author of

this article. The church record of Christopher J. Browne is not consistent because he was not listed

as a member, but he is included in the list of elders. The Browne family continued their church

membership in later generations.

Concluding Remarks

The Westville Christian Church began on December 12, 1858, on the momentum achieved by

the Ephesus Christian Church that had separated from the Mathews Baptist Church in 1835. In the

brief period before the Civil War, they built a significant church structure to serve 400 persons, a

membership of about 60 and their families. Westville, and the movement they represented, sought

to recover a church like that of the first century AD that would unite all churches with an appeal to

human reason to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their Savior. Westville has stood for

church unity in the county and social reform throughout its history. The strong family ties were an

important factor in their initial accomplishments, and these ties continued to compound as the

descendants of key families married each other for many generations, as shown in the church

record. The foundation formed during its earliest generations has carried it into the twenty-first

century. ‡

End Notes:

1 Membership record was provided by Walter Scott Hunley,

elder of Westville Christian Church.

2 Bradley, Dr. Stephen E.: The 1860 Federal Census,

Mathews County, Virginia, 150 pp, 1998.

3 History of the Mathews Baptist Church, Hudgins, VA,

1991, p. 2. Mathews Baptist Church was constituted as

Kingston Baptist Church in 1775 when Mathews was part

of Gloucester County. It was located about two miles

east of Gwynn’s Island where Lord Dunmore, governor of

Colonial Virginia, took sanctuary at the beginning of the

war. “In 1821 Elder Peter Ainslie removed from Black

Creek in Hanover County and took the pastoral charge of

this church which he continued to hold until the

ordination of Elder John Daingerfield in 1825 who served

as pastor of the church until 1835. Some of the

members of this church were among the earliest

adherents of the peculiar views of Mr. Alexander

Campbell.”

4 Dutton, C. H., History of Ebenezer Baptist Church,

Gloucester, VA, Minutes of Mid -Tidewater Baptist

Association. “In 1826 Ebenezer was constituted with 34

members and was received into the Dover Association

that year. Her first pastor was Elder Peter Ainslie who

served only two years.” The Gloucester Land Tax

Records show one acre listed to Peter Ainslie, trustee for

meeting house, 8 miles north of the courthouse. Mr.

Ainslie’s 532 acre farm was located nearby. He was

listed as trustee until 1908, 73 years beyond his death.

5 Saunders, Robert L., Jr., The History of the Grafton

Baptist Church, 1777-1977, Grafton, VA, pp. 15-23,

Grafton Baptist Church was the first Baptist church

established on the Lower Peninsula, a few years before

General Cornwallis surrendered to General George

Washington, a few miles north at Yorktown. “In 1827

Peter Ainslie became pastor of Grafton Baptist Church.

Ainslie was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, on November

27, 1788, and he migrated to America in 1811.” Ainslie

stated, “In the spring of 1827, I extended my labors to

York County and in the summer of this year a great work

of grace commenced at Grafton in that county, and large

numbers united with all the Baptist churches of that

section. I was called to take charge of the Grafton

Church, which I accepted and in the fall of the year I

engaged an overseer for my farm in Gloucester and

moved with my wife and children to Yorktown.” The

1832 meeting of the Dover Baptist Association voted to

exclude Peter Ainslie and five other ministers for

“promoting controversy and discord under the specious

name of ‘Reformers.’” In the early years of the Alexander

Campbell movement, his followers were called

“Reformers.” On February 9, 1835, Peter Ainslie

drowned when his boat was crushed by ice in the

Mattoponi River. He was attempting to unite a slave with

his wife that was being sold.

6 History of the Mathews Baptist Church, Hudgins, VA,

1991, p. 2. “Elder Ainslie, to whom the church was

devotedly attached, settled in York County, but

occasionally visited them.” Elders John Daingerfield and

Mathew Gayle attempted to remove the Baptist churches

of Mathews from the Dover Association, but Deacon

Thomas Hudgins begged the association to continue

their membership. The “Reformers” were excluded and

the Mathews Baptist Church was re -established in 1835.

7 Westville Christian Church, Mathews, VA.

8 Constitution and By-Laws of Westville Christian Church,

Article I, Basis of Organization, December 12, 1858.

9 Saunders, Robert L., Jr., The History of the Grafton

Baptist Church, 1777-1977, Grafton, VA, pp. 31-36. This

is an account by Dr. G. Lane Corbin, King and Queen

County, of a debate between York County ministers: Rev.

James B. L. Williams, Methodist, and Rev. John Curtis,

(Continued on page 15)

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

Vol. 7, No. 1 11 June 2003

The Eastville—Westville Mystery

Connections Between Mathews/Gloucester County

and Northampton County, Virginia

by Gayle Mandell

An area of Mathews County, formed from Gloucester in 1791 and known as the

Westville District, lies directly opposite the small community of Eastville on the Eastern

Shore in Northampton County, Virginia. In studying the history of both areas, certain

references indicate this is more than just a coincidence. A number of families whose

origins can be traced to Northampton County ultimately settled in Kingston Parish of

Gloucester County – and vice versa. They also traveled back and forth; although the will of

one William Jarvis – a relative of Francis and Ann Jarvis – stipulated that he would

disinherit anyone who moved to the

western shore of the Chesapeake.

The question is this. What, exactly, is

the origin of the Eastville – Westville

connection?

Eastville became the county seat

for Northampton County about 1715.

However, the area comprising the

Eastern Shore of Virginia has much

earlier origins. It was one of the eight

original shires and was first explored

by Captain John Smith in 1608. By

1619, a permanent English settlement

had been established on the narrow

peninsula located between the

Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay.

It was called “Ye Plantacon of

Accawmacke,” after the Indian word

meaning “over the water.”

In 1643, the name of the area

was changed to Northampton, after

Northamptonshire in England. In 1663, the peninsula was divided into two counties –

Northampton and Accomack – and the first courthouse was built at the “Towne,” a small

settlement between Cherrystone Inlet and Kings Creek on the bayside. However, in 1677 a

new site was selected at an area known as “ The Hornes,” which later became Peachburg

Town and finally Eastville. It has been the county seat of Northampton County for over

three hundred years. A courthouse was built there in 1731 at a cost of 50,000 pounds of

tobacco. Some sixty years later, the building had become too small for the growing

population and a new one was erected in 1795. This structure was later replaced by the

present courthouse, built in 1899, which houses the oldest continuous court records in the

Mathew s

Courthouse

Westv i l l e

Chesapeake

Bay

Locations of Eastville and Westville, Virginia

Vol. 7, No. 1 12 June 2003

nation, dating from 1632.

Between the years 1640 and 1645, several surnames appeared in the court records of

Northampton County which also appeared in records of Kingston Parish, Gloucester

County. It should be noted that relationships have not been established and that variations

in spelling were common.

ADDAMS FOSTER MOORE SMARTE

BLUNT GARNETT MORGAN TURNER

BROWNE GAYLE MYLES TOMPKINS

COOKE GWYNN PITT VAUGHN

CUNNINGHAM HALL POOLE WATERS

DAVIS JARVIS POWELL WELLS

DIXON LILLY READE WEST

DYER LONG SAVAGE WILLIAMS

EDWARDS LUCAS SCARBOROUGH WISE

ELLIOTT MILLER SMITH YOUNG

EVANS MINIFIE

During the 1700’s, the surnames

appearing in estate records for

Northampton County can also be found

in Kingston Parish, Gloucester. These

include Nottingham, Goffigon, Benthall,

Webb, Pitts, Smith, Burris, Jarvis, Wilkins,

Powell, Savage, Elliott, Turner, Wilson,

Turpin, Dunton, Harmanson and

Parramore, to name a few. Interesting

comparisons can be made between the

names on these estate records and those

on early land grants in Gloucester

County.

WILLIAMS FAMILY CONNECTION

Of particular note among the

inhabitants of the Eastern Shore was the

family of Samuel Williams, later of

Kingston Parish. Samuel descends from

Michael Williams (1617 – c.1650) of

Gravesend, England, who came to the

colonies on August 21, 1635. In 1646, he

patented land near Franktown on

Nassawadox Creek in Northampton

County and called his patent Holly Grove.

His son, Thomas Williams, apparently

Samuel Williams, b. Nov 25, 1725, m. Nov 7, 1753

+Sarah Haffoman

John Williams, b. Aug 17, 1754, m.1 Aug 11, 1775, Edith

Nottingham, dau. of Thomas & Scarborough

Nottingham; m.2 Aug 17, 1787, Margaret Glanville;

m.3 Jun 12, 1793, Margaret Goffigon

William Williams, b. Apr 9, 1759, d. Sep 28, 1801, m.1 Apr

29, 1786, Mary Nottingham, dau. of Thomas &

Scarborough Nottingham; m.2 Aug 3, 1795, Leah

Goffigon, d. 1798, buried Williams Family Cemetery,

Mathews.

Thomas Williams, b. May 5, 1759, d. Sep 19, 1823, m.1

May 15, 1793, Susan Billups, d. May 31, 1764, m.2

Oct 18, 1804, Mary Lilly Billups, b. Jan 1, 1785, d.

Jun 25, 1857

*2nd wife of Samuel Williams, m. Dec 4, 1764,

+Sarah Dunton

Pollie Williams, b. Oct 18, 1765, m.1 Mar 31, 1785, Capt.

Gabriel Hughes

Margaret Williams, b. Jul 5, 1768, m.2 Jun 12, 1790, Levin

Gayle, son of John & Susanna Davis Gayle

*3rd wife of Samuel Williams, m. Dec 12, 1772,

+Margaret Nottingham, d. Oct 1, 1810, dau. of

Thomas & Scarborough Nottingham

Sarah Scarbrough Williams, m. Col. Christopher Billups,

b. Jul 31, 1763

Elizabeth Williams, m. John Dixon Jarvis

Hannah Williams, m. Dr. Briggs

Susan Williams, m. Capt. Francis Bright

Margaret “Peggy” Williams, m. Mr. Dean

Mary Fountain Williams, m. Dr. Seth Sheppard

The Eastville Westville Mystery

Vol. 7, No. 1 13 June 2003

moved from Holly Grove and owned an estate known as Williamston on Annamessex Creek

in Somerset County, Maryland. His wife was Frances Robinson and children were Thomas,

Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary and John Williams, born on Feb. 20, 1692/3.

The son, John Williams, married three times – to Sarah Beauchamp, Mary Fountain

and Elizabeth Polk. John and Mary Fountain Williams, his second wife, had several

children, one of whom was Samuel Williams, born on November 25, 1725. Samuel moved

from his father’s estate of Williamston back to Northampton County and, on November 7,

1753, married Sarah Haggoman of Oak Grove, a descendant of Sir George Yeardley and his

wife Temperance Flowerdew. He lived on the family estate, Holly Grove, located just north

of Eastville. Following Sarah’s death, Samuel married Sarah Dunton on December 4, 1764.

When his second wife died, Samuel married Margaret Nottingham, daughter of Thomas

and Scarborough Nottingham of Lebanon, later Millford, on December 12, 1772. Samuel

and Margaret Nottingham Williams left the Eastern Shore in 1774 and settled in Kingston

Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia., where Margaret died on October 1, 1810. The children

of Samuel Williams for three marriages are presented in the chart on the previous page.

GAYLE FAMILY CONNECTION

Another Gloucester family with ties to Northampton County were the Gayles. From

the Williams family discussion above, Margaret Williams – daughter of Samuel and Sarah

Dunton Williams – married Levin Gayle. Though it has not been proven, Levin is probably

part of the family of Hunley Gayle of Kingston Parish who was engaged in shipbuilding in

Mathews and in Baltimore, Maryland. Circumstantial evidence indicates that Hunley Gayle

had connections on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland.

Northampton County marriage records note that a Joseph Gale/Gayle married

Peggy Jacob on April 14, 1801. Her identity is unknown although members of her

family were early residents of Northampton. The will of William Dixon, Jr. of

Northampton County notes several names allied with Joseph Gale. The will itself was

dated April 9, 1795 and proved July 13, 1795. Dixon leaves one acre of land

purchased from Henry Giddens to his sister “Ann Bishop for life… and then to my

son William.” He leaves to his son William “my lands whereon Joseph Gale now

lives.” His will also mentions negroes America, Joe, Charles, Frank and James, and

names his “friend” Rickards Dunton, Jr. as executor and guardian to his son

William. Witnesses were Thomas Dixon and S.S. Satchell.

Rickards Dunton, named on William Dixon’s will, had a cousin, Levin Dunton, Sr.,

who married Frances Waterfield. Their daughter, Sarah Dunton, was the second wife of

Samuel Williams. Frances Waterfield Dunton’s sister, Esther Waterfield, married Abraham

Jacob and one of their children was Margaret “Peggy” Jacob, who married William

Scarbrough in 1776 in Northampton County. William Scarbrough was living in 1776, and

Margaret was living in 1787. It is possible that William Scarbrough died and “Peggy” Jacob

married Joseph Gayle in 1801; however, this is merely conjecture as no documentation has

been found.

The family of Christopher Gayle, Sr., also has ties to both Kingston Parish and the

Eastern Shore. His son, Christopher Jr., married Mary Ann Stevens in Eastville in

Northampton County. The marriage is recorded in the Northampton County marriage

records. It seems likely that he would have chosen to visit this area due to some prior

connection.

The Eastville Westville Mystery

Vol. 7, No. 1 14 June 2003

His grandfather, Josiah Gayle, was born

in Kingston Parish in April of 1722. His

marriage to a woman named Mary is recorded

in the Kingston Parish Register. Mary died

around 1761, and Josiah’s marriage to

‘Hannah’ is also recorded. In 1763, Josiah and

Hannah moved from Kingston Parish to

Lunenburg County where Josiah was granted

240 acres of land. From there, he went to

South Carolina and was granted 200 acres in

1769 on the High Hills of Santee in Craven

County.

Josiah’s son, Christopher Gayle, Sr., was

born on November 1747/48 in Kingston

Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia. His birth

is recorded in the register of Kingston Parish.

His siblings were Josiah, Jr., Dorothy, Caleb,

Elizabeth, Ransom, Ann, Ambrose, John, and

a half-sister, Mary. Around the year 1768,

Christopher, Sr. married Unity Richbourg,

who died in Louisiana around mid -April, 1815.

According to a marriage bond dated January

26, 1816, he married Winnie C. Vaughn (1792

–1851), a woman 45 years his junior. A

planter, Christopher moved with his family to

the High Hills of Santee in the early 1770’s

and became a vestryman of St. Mark’s Parish,

Episcopal Church there.

Christopher Gayle, Jr., was born

sometime between 1770 and 1774 to Christopher and Unity Richbourg Gayle. His siblings

were Unity, John, Eliza, William Hull, David Porter and Christopher Wade. According to a

marriage bond dated December 20, 1798, Christopher, Jr., was married to Mary Ann

Stevens in Eastville, Northampton County, Virginia, by Baptist preacher, John Elliott. The

couple left Northampton and travelled to Louisiana, settling near Christopher’s parents, a

few miles south of St. Francisville on the Mississippi River. Their plantation of 330 acres in

East Baton Rouge parish was “situated on Ward’s Creek, joining Noel Hill’s land to the east,

William Garig’s to the west and Mr. Buhler to the south.” According to records in East Baton

Rouge, LA. (Case No. 310, Judge’s Book D, p. 415, Nov. 21, 1816), Christopher and Mary

Ann Stevens Gayle were divorced September 27, 1817, and Mary Ann Gayle died just a few

months afterwards. Christopher Gayle, Jr., died in May of 1819 in East Baton Rouge and

his father, Christopher Sr. – along with William Williams – was appointed guardian of his

children, Mary, John I. Y., William C., Edward, Caroline, and Unity Eveline. [Book G, No.

531, folio 534, Bond of Christopher Gayle, Book G. No. 550, folio 534; and No. 239 “Flat

File,” Christopher Gayle, Deceased ab intestate, Court of Probate, Parish of East Baton

Rouge.]

For the time being, the original question of how Eastville and Westville were

connected remains unanswered, but they obviously were. The repetition of names creates

a patch-work quilt of connections, and anyone researching Gloucester surnames would

Josiah Gayle, b. Apr 1722, m.1 Mary, d. 1761

Christopher Gayle, Sr., b. Nov 2, 1747/48, m.1

abt 1768, Unity Richbourg, d. Apr 1815

Christopher Gayle, Jr., b. 1770/74, d. May 1819,

m.1 Dec 20, 1798, Mary Ann Stevens, d. 1817

Mary Gayle

John I. Y. Gayle

William C. Gayle

Edward Gayle

Caroline Gayle

Unity Eveline Gayle

Unity Gayle

John Gayle

Eliza Gayle

William Gayle

Hull Gayle

David Porter Gayle

Christopher Wade Gayle

Christopher Gayle, Sr., m.2 abt 1768, Winnie C.

Vaughn, b. 1792, d. 1851

Josiah Gayle, Jr.,

Dorothy Gayle

Caleb Gayle

Elizabeth Gayle

Ransom Gayle

Ann Gayle

Ambrose Gayle

John Gayle

Josiah Gayle, m.2 1763, Hannah

Mary Gayle

The Eastville Westville Mystery

Vol. 7, No. 1 15 June 2003

benefit by comparing records on both sides of the water. ‡

SOURCE REFERENCES:

Gayle Kinsmen; John Averitt

Marriages of Northampton County, VA. 1660/1 – 1854; Jean M. Mihalyka

A Good Inheritance; Francis Stuart Harmon

The Ancestors and Descendants of Judge John Alexander Kelly and Martha Matilda Peck Kelly

and Related Families; 1515 – 1959 – Dr. John Alexander Kelly, Roberta Matilda Copenhaver

County Court Records of Accomack-Northampton, Va.; 1640 – 1645; Susie M. Ames

Colonial Records of Gloucester County, Va.; Polly Cary Mason

Eastville, Virginia; Frances Latimer, 1993

The Lilly, Billups, Stokes Family Papers; Collection of the Earl Gregg Swem Library, Williamsburg,

Va.

Northampton County Orders, XXXIX-0, No. 33, 1796 – 1800

Research Notes of Gayle Bradley Weiss

Reformed Baptist or Disciples of Christ. Rev. Curtis

began the debate, but became sick and could not

continue. Dr. F. W. Power attended to his needs, but he

expired before he could be removed. This is an extreme

example of the controversy and the emotions that were

expressed.

10 The Encyclopedia Americana , Vol. IX, Americana

Corporation, 1961, p151. Two basic views motivated the

Disciples of Christ: “they abhorred the disunity of the

church, and they believed that a restoration of New

Testament teachings and practices were the only

possible basis of unity.”

11 “Peter Ainslie,” by W. T. Moore. The New Living Pulpit of

the Christian Church: A Series of Discourses, Doctrinal

and Practical, ed. W. T. Moore. St. Louis, MO: Christian

Board of Publication, 1918, pp. 337 -338. Three

generations of Peter Ainslies active in the national

movement.

12 There were two Christopher Billups and there is some

debate about the family and associated dates.

13 History of the Union Baptist Church, Achilles, VA, 1976,

p. 8. Joel Hayes of Hayes Store, Gloucester, VA, had

much influence in the Union Baptist Church, which

seems to have experienced a similar controversy and was

completely reorganized, effective December 5, 1854.

14 Collison, Helyn Hatton, Records of Middlesex County,

VA, 2000, pp 145-152. Peter Ainslie and his daughter,

Jane, participated in the Middlesex Temperance Society

meetings in 1830. He addressed the meetings on May

1830 and July 16, 1831, when the controversy was about

to explode.

15 History of the Mathews Baptist Church, Hudgins, VA,

1991, pp. 1-2.

16 “Climbing The Family Tree,” The Daily Press NEW

DOMINION, Newport News, VA. The Hudgins family

claimed to have built impressive landmarks in Mathews

including the “Baptist Church on the road from Mathews

Courthouse to Milford Haven built by Houlder Hudgins,

II, for his brother-in-law, Rev. Thomas Muse Hunley, a

Baptist minister.”

[http://www.sky.net/~jhudgins/geneal/vahudgins/]

Thomas Muse Hunley served as Commissioner of

Revenue for Mathews County and a lay -preacher for the

Methodists and Baptists.

17 Virginia Herald. Pub: Wed., April 11, 1832. Married at

Afton in Mathews Co., on Tuesday, March 27, 1832, Dr.

William Shultice, and Miss Mary Elizabeth Jarvis,

daughter of John D. Jarvis, by Rev. John Dangerfield.

Personal communication from Becky Barnhardt.

(Continued from page 10)

Founders of the Westville Christian Church

The Eastville Westville Mystery

Vol. 7, No. 1 16 June 2003

Brock’s Country Store—The Story Behind the Store

by Roger C. Davis

The country stores in Gloucester County are a reflection of times past. Behind each

façade is a history of community and the families that operated the stores. Brock’s

Country Store is located in the Wicomico community and was last operated by Richard and

Joyce Holbrook Brock. The little store with attached residence is located on the corner of

Powhatan Drive and Carmine’s Island Road next to what was the little Ambrose post office

building.

Richard Brock, Sr. bought the store in 1971 from Hunter and Ruth Bland after Richard

retired from the Air Force. He and his family moved from Hampton, where he was

stationed at Langley Air Force Base, to Gloucester County. Richard and his wife, Joyce,

operated a very successful business there for some thirty years. The store became a “hang -

out” for young people when the Brocks added a pinball machine, soft drinks, snacks and an

inviting place for the locals to meet.

1

In fact, a love story developed here when young Richard Brock, Jr., met Tina

(Christina) Ambrose, granddaughter of Woodrow Ambrose, who served as the postmaster

for the Wicomico station housed in the small concrete block building next to Brock’s Store.

Years later, after the start of this “country store” courtship, Richard and Tina married and

today are raising a family at their Carter's Cove residence. In keeping with family tradition,

Tina Brock works at the Hayes Post Office. The children of Richard and Tina Brock are

Adam Price, born April 15, 1981, and Lindsey Nicole, born December 21, 1988. Tina says

she can remember riding her horse up to the store.

2

Brock’s Country Store

Wicomico, Gloucester County, Virginia

Photo by Roger C. Davis - January 2003

Vol. 7, No. 1 17 June 2003

Years ago, there was a store building on the opposite corner next to the old Edwin

Hogg residence. The building was owned by the Edwin Hogg family and rented to the store

operators. In 1945, William Woodrow Ambrose and his cousin, A. Henneth Hogg (no

relation to Edwin Hogg), went into business together to operate a country store at that

location. At the same time, Woodrow Ambrose became the postmaster for Wicomico and

operated the post office out of the store.

In 1946 Woodrow sold his interest in the store to Henneth and resigned as

postmaster. Henneth served as postmaster until 1948, when his brother, Gilbert Hogg,

became postmaster and helped run the store for the next year until he was offered and

took the first rural carrier position at the Gloucester Post Office.

3

In 1949, Woodrow bought back the store business and again became the postmaster

and held that position until 1958, when his wife, Rosa, assumed the job until 1961. After

Rosa, Catherine Ambrose Hogg (1961 -1971), then Loletta Ambrose Jenkins (1971 -1985) and

Patsy Foster (1986----) were postmasters at the little Wicomico Post Office before it closed

and the new, larger, upgraded Wicomico Post Office was opened on Valentine's Day,

February 14, 1989. Today "Mac" McNutt is the postmaster, one hundred and three years

after a Wicomico Post Office was established in 1900, with the appointment of John E.

Hogg on September 20, 1900. Mr. Hogg served until his death on February 13, 1939. Mrs.

C. Jennings Hogg took over and was followed by Cabot Williams until Woodrow Ambrose

became postmaster in 1945.

3, 4

Tragedy struck in 1954 when the store and post office building burned to the ground.

At that time Woodrow Ambrose bought one half acre of land on the corner of Powhatan

Drive and Carmine’s Island Road from Charlie and Gertie Williams and constructed the

little concrete block building that would serve as the Wicomico Post Office for the next

thirty-five years. Today it serves as a beauty shop. Woodrow sold his little building to a

man who wanted to run a fencing business and within a year this man sold the building to

the Brocks.

Woodrow decided to take a better paying job, still with Civil Service, in production

control at Fort Eustis, where he worked from 1958 to 1973, when he retired. The family

Carmine’s Island Rd. William’s Landing Rd.

Powhatan Dr.

Powhatan Dr.

Mary Roane’s

house

Edwin Hogg’s

house

Present

Wicomico

Post Office

Brock’s Store

Original Store

& Post Office

Ambrose

building

Site Plan at Wicomico Post Office

Brock’s Country Store

Wicomico Post Office (Ambrose

building) 1954-1989

Photo by Roger C. Davis, April 2003

Vol. 7, No. 1 18 June 2003

Ancestors of Christine Marie Ambrose Brock

William Washington Ambrose

b. Mar 11, 1870, d. Jan 1, 1945

Alonzo Talmage Ambrose

b. May 17, 1892, m. Oct 26, 1910, d. Sep 9, 1982

Lavinia Ann Gibbs

b. 1874, d. 1946

William Woodrow Ambrose

b. May 6, 1918, m. Sep 7, 1935

William T. Croswell

b. Mar 1859

Leontyne C. Croswell

b. Dec 9, 1893, d. 1984

Josephine Croswell

b. May 1871

Fredrick Lee Ambrose

b. Nov 16, 1938, m. Jun 25, 1955

John W. Walker

b. 1852

Otis Wray Walker

b. Aug 1882

Lilly A. Walker

b. Dec 1851

Rosa Blanche Walker

b. Sep 28, 1915, d. Jul 5, 1940

William J. Diggs

b. 1831, d. Apr 8, 1838

Danah Blanche Diggs

b. Mar 1885

Margaret Lewis Croswell

b. 1853

Christine Marie Ambrose

b. Jun 23, 1907, m. Richard Brock, Jr.

Stanley James Coates

b. Aug 6, 1907

Barbara Jean Coates

b. Dec 29, 1939

John West

b. 1835

Noah West

b. Sep 1876, m. 1899

Mary Susan Sparrow

b. 1839

Pansy Mae West

b. Sep 5, 1912/13

George Calhoun Coats

b. abt 1850

Maggie Lee Coates

b. Oct 1879

Mary Susan West

b. 1851, d. 1910

Ruth A. Sparrow

b. May 1880

Nancy M. West

b. abt 1847, d. Apr 1884

William L. Coats

b. 1848

Walter Lee Coates

b. Jan 1880

Washington Sparrow

b. Feb 1842

Matilda ?

b. Oct 1843

Brock’s Country Store

Vol. 7, No. 1 19 June 2003

Ancestors of William Woodrow Ambrose

Michael Ambrose

b. abt 1805, m. abt 1824

Benjamin Franklin Ambrose

b. Sep 1841, m. abt 1864, d. Jun 12, 1911

Elizabeth Heywood

b. 1803

William Washington Ambrose

b. Mar 11, 1870, m. Nov 5, 1891, d. Jan 1, 1945

Washington Hogg

b. 1821

Sarah Elizabeth Hogge

b. Feb 1846, d. Nov 19, 1924

Elizabeth Hall

b. 1821, d. Sep 25, 1890

Alonzo Talmage Ambrose

b. May 17, 1892, m. Oct 26, 1910, d. Sep 9, 1982

William Henry Gibbs

b. 1844

Lavinia Ann Gibbs

b. 1874, d. 1946

John W. Croswell

b. 1810

Matilda N. Croswell

b. 1846

Nancy (Ann) M. Carmine

b. 1812, d. Jul 27, 1869

William Woodrow Ambrose

b. May 6, 1918, m. Rosa Blanche Walker.

William Croswell

b. abt 1790

Isaac Croswell

b. 1823, m. 1847

Matilda Speed

b. abt 1795

William T. Croswell

b. Mar 1859

Smith R. Carmine

Elizabeth Carmine

b. 1830

Elizabeth Grant

Leontyne C. Croswell

b. Dec 9, 1893, d. 1984

John W. Croswell

b. 1810

Richard Charles Croswell

b. 1840, m. Jan 11, 1866

Nancy (Ann) M. Carmine

b. 1812, d. Jul 27, 1869

Josephine Croswell

b. May 1871

Robert Harris

Lucy J. Harris

b. 1852, d. Jun 20, 1877

Harriet ?

Brock’s Country Store

Vol. 7, No. 1 20 June 2003

lived at Wicomico during this period. Woodrow and Rosa had children that included

William Donald, born September 28, 1936; Fredrick Lee, born November 16, 1938; William

Woodrow, Jr., born January 11, 1943; and Teresa June, born March 12, 1949.

Hunter and Ruth (his second wife) Bland bought the land next to the post office

building from Woodrow Ambrose in 1960 or 1961, and built the store and attached

residence. The Bland family lived here and operated the store until they sold in 1971 to

Richard and Joyce Brock, Sr. Hunter Bland had been postmaster at Plainview before coming

to Wicomico. A fire in the residence part of the building nearly cost the lives of Joyce and

Gail Brock in 1992. The fire started in an air conditioner unit on Father’s Day, June 19,

1991, but fortunately was discovered by Robert Lee Bloxom who was passing the store. He

was able to waken and alert Joyce and Gail and get them out of the building to safety.

Bloxom received a Woodmen of the World lifesaver award from Gloucester Lodge 216 for

his timely actions. Mr. Brock was in the store at the time but unaware of the fire.

5

The Brocks repaired the fire damage and restored the structure to create the building

as seen today. They had added a second floor to the original building prior to the fire.

Richard Brock, Sr., died November 21, 1992, and Joyce Brock continued to run the store

until her death January 5, 2001. Gail was helping her during this time. Richard, Jr., and

Tina Brock and Gail continued to operate the store

until December 31, 2001, when the Brocks closed

the store. Today the store is for sale.

Recently, on April 23, 2003, I met with Tina and

Woodrow Ambrose at his residence on William’s

Landing Road to talk about their ancestors. Their

family tradition indicates that three brothers came

over from Spain shortly after 1820 (not

documented). “One of the brothers settled in New

York, another in Richmond, VA, and the third,

Michael, settled in Dunlop along the York River in

the Wicomico area.”

6

Michael Ambrose, with four people in the

household, appears in the 1830 census for

Gloucester County, VA. By the 1840 census there

are six in the household. Michael Ambrose had

two sons, Henry Hansford and Benjamin Franklin

(Frank). Tina descends from Frank.

7

Frank Ambrose married Sarah Hogge and they had seven children, four sons, Jim, Will

(William Washington Ambrose), Frank and Walter and three daughters, Cleavia, Cornelia

and Mary.

Will, an oysterman, married Lavinia (Vernia) Ann Gibbs on November 5, 1891. The

wedding ceremony was conducted by the Rev. F. H. Hall.

8

This union produced one son,

the well loved Alonza Talmage Ambrose, who was born on May 17, 1892, and a daughter,

Daisy, born July 19, 1895.

Alonza Talmage, who died September 9, 1982, married Leuntine (Leontyne) Croswell

(born December 9, 1894) on October 26, 1910. They would have eight children. The third

child was William Woodrow Ambrose, born May 6, 1918, at Wicomico, VA.

Brock’s Country Store

Tina Ambrose Brock and her grandfather

William Woodrow Ambrose April 2003

Photo by Roger C. Davis, April 2003

Vol. 7, No. 1 21 June 2003

On September 7, 1935, Woodrow married Rosa Blanche Walker at Richmond, VA. She

was born September 28, 1915, at Gloucester, VA. They had four children, one of whom was

Frederick Lee Ambrose, born November 16, 1938. This Frederick married Barbara Jean

Coates on June 25, 1955, at Hertford, NC. Their daughter, Christina Marie Ambrose, was

born June 23, 1956, at Hampton, VA, and married Richard Brock, Jr., on May 16, 1975, at

Ordinary, VA.

Thus, a hundred years of postal service at Wicomico is brought to life and a romance

that ties the little post office to the Brock’s Store is revealed. From Michael to Tina

Ambrose is a span of seven generations of living in Gloucester County, Virginia. Today the

store door is closed and locked, waiting for a new family and other generations to become

a part of Wicomico’s heritage. ‡

End Notes:

1 Brock, Jr., Richard and Tina (Christina) Ambrose. Personal interview. April 7, 2003.

2 Ibid.

3 Ambrose, William Woodrow and Tina Ambrose Brock. Personal interview. 23 April 2003.

4 McNutt, "Mac." Personal interview at Wicomico Post Office and unpublished document from

Wicomico Post Office, April 30, 2003.

5 Gazette-Journal, October 1992.

6 Ambrose, Jr., William Woodrow. Computer program printout--"Descendants of Michael

Ambrose (born 1805)"

7 The 1830 and 1840 Census, Gloucester County, Virginia. Web Site

http://www.rootsweb.com/~vaggsv/

8 Hunt, L. Roane, ed. "Marriage Records of Gloucester County, Virginia, Book 1 (1853 -1895), May

2001. p.148.

Brock’s Store and Wicomico Post Office (1954-1989)

Photo by Roger C. Davis, April 2003

Vol. 7, No. 1 22 June 2003

A Surveyor’s Memories around Gloucester

County Courthouse

Charles J. Kerns, Sr.

As compiled by Roger C. Davis

A lot of memories about Gloucester history

were passed on to the Gloucester Genealogical

Society when Charles J. Kerns, Sr., spoke to the

members on January 27, 2003. Mr. Kerns has been

the appointed surveyor for Gloucester County since

1965. He is a 1945 graduate of Botetourt High

School and served in World War II. After the war, he

studied engineering at VPI, learned land surveying

under William Stiff, county surveyor for Middlesex

County, and studied at International Correspon -

dence Schools.

He told us of his experiences as lay -out

engineer on the first Coleman (York River) Bridge

from 1949 to 1952. He also surveyed oyster beds

for the State of Virginia throughout the Tidewater

area for sixteen years. This year, 2003, will mark his

54th year in land surveying! He is included in the

list of county surveyors on page 23 compiled by

Roger Davis.

An interesting exhibit Charlie showed us was an

old 1831 transit compass, first used by Henry

Hughes, an elected Gloucester surveyor from 1831

to 1853, and used for ninety -nine years by three

county surveyors. The dry card compass has horse

hair sights and an old Jacob's staff to hold the

compass. William E. Wiatt used the compass after

the Civil War to re-survey all the Gloucester proper -

ties after the original surveys had been destroyed.

Land was given to early settlers of the colony for bringing new settlers into the

county. Richard Kemp, Esq., who served as Secretary of State, brought seventy people here

about 1649, and got fifty acres for each person making a total of 3,500 acres. Part of this

land grant is the current site of Gloucester County Courthouse. The first building was

constructed prior to 1684 but burned around 1766 (from “Glo -Quips,” December 12, 2002).

John Tyler was the only U.S. president to own land in Gloucester County. The old Odd

Fellows Lodge (current Abbitt Reality office building), that still stands, was called Tyler’s

(Continued on page 29)

Charles Kerns at his courthouse

office in April 2003

Photo by Roger C. Davis, April 2003

Vol. 7, No. 1 23 June 2003

Surveyors of Gloucester County, Virginia

Compiled by Roger C. Davis

Time Period Name of Surveyor Source

1651-____ Miles Cary 1

1670-1673 Robert Beverley 2

1675-1676 John Lewis 2

1683-1689 Lawrence Smith 2

1690-____ Maj. Lawrence Smith 1

1709-____ John Smith 2

1712-1723 Thomas Cook 2

1732-1737 Robert Perry 3

1740-1745 John French 2

1747-1753 Thomas Mumford 2

1751-1767 John Throckmorton 2

1768-1770 Francis Tomkies 3

1785-____ Lewis Booker 2

1786-1810 William DuVal 3

1810-____ Morgan Tomkies 2

1817-1819 R. G. Morris 4

1821-1822 Thomas Baytop 4

1831-1853 Henry Hughes 4

1854-1861 Thomas B. Montague 4

1866-____ W. A. Robins 4

1866-1877 William E. Wiatt 1

1877-1896 A. T. Wiatt 1

1896-____ R. A. Folks 1

1907-____ Robert Heywood 1

1965-present Charles Joshua Kerns, Sr. 1

Sources:

1 Kerns, Charles J., Sr., List of Surveyors of Gloucester County.

2 Polly Cary Mason, comp., Records of Colonial Gloucester County Virginia, Vol. 1 (by

the compiler 1946, p.122).

3 Gloucester County Surveyor's Book, 1733-1806.

4 General Index to Surveyor's Books.

Surveyor's Books:

Old Book 1733 to 1817 (Contains some plats of Mathews area.)

Book No. 1 1817 to 1849

Book No. 2 1850 to 1869

Book No. 3 1873 to 1904

Book No. 4 1900 to ____

Vol. 7, No. 1 24 June 2003

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship

By Cathy Williamson

Cathy Williamson, Public Services Librarian at the Mariners' Museum, Newport

News, VA, presented a talk to the Gloucester Genealogical Society on March 24,

2003. This article was compiled by Roger C. Davis from her presentation notes.

From 1565-1954, about 45 to 50 million individuals came

from Europe, Asia and Africa to North America on ships. For

400 years primary transportation was by ship, and many of

these were small sailing vessels. Today we search for ship

passenger lists to provide interesting clues about early

relatives.

Passenger lists could include name, age, gender, ship name,

captain's name, port of embarkation, mode of travel and port

of arrival. It may identify relatives or friends who accompanied

them to America.

The time period may provide an idea of the style and size of

vessel, giving you insight on how difficult their journey was

and may help you understand why they left and what sacrifices

they made.

This discussion will help you learn how to:

Find ancestors immigration data.

Find ship passenger lists.

Identify a specific vessel.

Utilize maritime reference resources.

Obtain vessel information from the library.

Use WEB resources and bibliographies.

There are TWO PHASES to your research:

Locate passenger lists or ship's name.

Locate additional information about the ship and voyage.

Ancestors’ Immigration Data

Since there were millions of immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond and

many had the same names, you need as much data as possible to identify the specific

individual.

Name- full name, given name, and surname. Watch for variant spellings, especially

surnames. Many American family names are different from ancestor's name used in the

"old country." The immigration officer often shortened the name, created a

transliteration of the name or translated the word into English. Be imaginative.

Passenger lists were prepared at port of embarkation.

Cathy Williamson

Vol. 7, No. 1 25 June 2003

Age- needed to eliminate duplicate entries.

Date of arrival -Year and month preferably, refines search and makes task easier.

Nationality- helps establish a particular person, aids when selecting published lists.

Port of arrival -narrows search for passenger lists and identifying specific vessels. In the

19th century, about 101 U.S. ports were used.

Port of departure -may help narrow search for specific vessel.

Locating Ship Passenger Lists

1565-1819

Try Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (http://istg. Rootsweb.com). You are unlikely

to find information in this time period by searching the web.

Prior to 1820 there was no law requiring the recording of passenger arrivals in U.S.

ports. Immigration records were handled by colonies, states and port cities and varied by

area and custom.

If a passenger list exists, it might be in a local archival collection, local port records,

local newspapers, local histories, courthouses, museums or in personal collections. Many

lists and indexes have been published and some are appearing on the web.

When searching in this time period, try indexes to published lists and look for ship

name (if known), passenger name, nationality, geographic settlement or port of entry.

An excellent source is Filby, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 2003 edition. This

huge source indicates 4,181,000 immigrants are indexed in 22 volumes. You need to

search each set of cumulative indexes. It identifies name, age, U.S. destination, year of

immigration, citation number and page number. Identify citation title and search library

catalogs to locate a copy.

Examples of publications:

Passenger arrivals at the Port of NY 1830 -1832 (NARA microfilm)

Irish Emigrants in North America

English origins of American colonists

German immigrants: lists of passengers bound from Bremen to New York

1820-1954

In 1819, an "Act Regulating Passenger ships and vessels" required the shipmaster,

entering an American port from a foreign country, to file a list of passengers with the

customs officer and swear to accuracy of contents as in the same manner as a cargo

manifest. This act resulted in the Customs Passenger Lists from 1820 -1891 and the

Immigration Passenger Lists from 1892 to the present.

If your ancestor arrived between 1820 -1954, the passenger list may be at the National

Archives (NA). You can search there or ask them to search for you. You must supply full

name, port of entry and month and year of arrival. Use NATF Form 81. If records are

found, they will invoice for $10. Message to: inquire@nara.gov, or regional offices. There

are estimates that 10-40% of passenger lists are missing from the NA records.

If your ancestor emigrated from eastern, northern or central Europe, he/she may have

departed from Hamburg, Germany. The 1850 -1934 records are indexed on microfilm at

LDS Family History libraries, located throughout the U.S. From 1850 -1920, the busiest port

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship

Vol. 7, No. 1 26 June 2003

was Bremen, followed by Hamburg.

Other indexes are often limited but are usually compiled by nationality or port of

entry.

Ellis Island became the receiving office for the port of NY in 1892, was active until

1924, and officially closed in 1954, when most immigrants began arriving by plane. Data

included race in 1903 and personal descriptions in 1906. Ellis Island web site has many

passenger lists online, but they are still adding information.

Ship Information Desired

Name of ship: many ships had the same names during the same times from the same

ports. Resources for finding information are very different for different time periods and

are often very limited in earliest years.

Type of vessel indicates how many masts and sails, and how it was rigged for sail. For

earlier years, you may find an image or painting of the type of vessel that corresponds to

the same time period, but no photographs before around 1850s.

You can conduct this research yourself or library staff will conduct research for a fee.

The more information you can provide, the faster you or staff will be able to locate

information. Sometimes family documents may reveal bits of information about the

ancestor's ocean voyage. Look for name of vessel, date of arrival, port of arrival, type of

vessel, date ship was built, name of ship Captain, date of departure and port of departure.

Any one of these facts can aid in your searches.

Types of Ships

There were a variety of types of ships that carried our ancestors. Some examples are

shown on Eric Sager’s "Maritime Capital: the Shipping Industry in Atlantic Canada 1820-

1914. (See figure 3.1 from his book). Often you will see the phrase, Bark "Maria" or

Schooner "Anna" or Brig "Calcutta." The first part of these names is the rig or ship type. In

1770s -1840s, all were sail, many were packet ships with regular, fixed routes. Notice the

term “ship” meant a specific type of vessel during sailing days. In 1803 the Passenger

Vessel Act limited one passenger per two tons of ship. Trips took about two months. In

1840, Cunard built some of the first steam/sail ships. Brittania crossed in 14 days. By the

1850s, steamships began regular crossings of the ocean, and most took two weeks. From

1870- 1950s, passenger steamship lines developed out of competition. By 1880s, nearly

all of the immigrants traveled by steamship, with the trip reduced to one week. In 1936,

Queen Mary, of the Cunard -White Star line, crossed in 4.5 days.

Some of the more common types of vessels of the day were schooners, brigantines,

brigs, barquentines, barques, ships, and steamships.

Ship Identification Resources at The Mariners’ Museum

Some overlap of dates, corresponds to primary source used to search for the given

dates.

1607-1789

Swem's Virginia Historical Index – Indexes 8 publications including the W & M

College Quarterly, Calendar of VA state papers, VA Magazine of History and

Biography… 1650s -1930s, with primary focus on Virginia's colonial period.

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship

Vol. 7, No. 1 27 June 2003

Ancestors’ names and ship names indexed.

Sailing Navy List- Ships of the Royal Navy, built, purchased and captured 1688 -

1860. Excellent glossary and plans and descriptions of early vessels including

frigates, galleys, sloops and slave ships.

Naval Office Shipping List- Before 1776, British maintained offices at each major

port. Vessels were required to register as they entered from foreign ports.

Includes typical register information: vessel name, date built, place built, owner,

origin. Organized by date within ports. Many lists lost.

1741-1826

Lloyd’s List- Ship arrivals and departures by date. No vessel name index, tedious

search.

Lloyd’s Register (1764-____)- British firm that insured vessels. Indexed by name.

There were many vessels with the same name in earlier registers. Ratings:

A=approved for transatlantic travel, E= approved for carrying dry cargo

transatlantic, I = not approved for dry cargo, O=not deemed safe for any foreign

voyage.

Liverpool (ship registers on microfilm [1835 -1882])- registers for Liverpool and

foreign vessels visiting port. Listed by date.

1835-1882

New York Herald (on microfilm 1835-1882)- Important first source to verify a

specific vessel, because it links name of vessel to type of ship and often captain’s

name. Under “maritime intelligence,” lists arrivals and departures for NYC and

ports around the world. Includes vessel name, type of ship, captain, homeport

and selected events that occurred during voyage.

New York Maritime Register (on microfilm 1867-1941)- Lists ships entering port

by date.

Record of American and Foreign Shipping (1857-____)- In 1857, known as the

New York Marine Register and in 1933, became the Record of the American

Bureau of Shipping, sometimes known as American Lloyd's (1857, 1862, 1867,

1870-). Prior to 1857, search to identify specific vessel information is very

difficult and time consuming.

The Mariners’ Museum has largest collection of ship registers in North

America. Staff will copy pages for $.25 per page.

Mystic Library- Staff at the Mystic library have been involved in a 3 year project to digitize

American Lloyd’s ship registers from 1850s -1900. Over 150,000 pages scanned and are

currently indexing by ship name and captain’s name. Currently there are 10 registers

online and searchable. Try the site at: www.mystic.org

Early registers organized the lists by type of vessel.

Data includes: vessel name, captain, rig, tons, decks, draft, type of wood, fasteners,

when medaled, year built, location built, shipbuilder, port registered, owners, dimensions,

remarks and place and date of registration.

Captain’s name, date built, shipbuilder become critical to differentiate a specific

vessel from another.

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship

Vol. 7, No. 1 28 June 2003

Types of Ship Information at The Mariners’ Museum

Images-unlikely early immigrant ships painted, but examples of similar types of vessels,

such as silhouettes and drawings. Indexed in in -house online database.

Photographs-over 50,000 sailing vessels and steamships beginning around the 1850s.

Some indexed in in-house online database, the rest are card file indexes. Most are black

and white. Reproductions can be ordered, 8 x 10 = $15 + $5 s & h; 11 x 14 = $25 + $5

s & h.

Vessel histories-books, online catalog by vessel name.

Plans- card file indexes, placing online, some part of Eldredge Steamship collection, can be

copied $20+ per sheet + $5 s & h. Depends on size of sheet.

Histories-primarily published material, online catalog.

The Steamship Ephemera Collection, primarily covering the 1870s -1960s. This

compilation of material by numerous steamship collectors has an international focus and

includes advertising pamphlets, sailing schedules, selected first class passenger lists,

handbooks, rate cards, sailing schedules, cabin plans, deck plans, photographs,

newspaper clippings, stamps, postcards, menus, etc.

The Ephemera Collection is one of largest steamship collections in the world.

Archives staff members are currently reprocessing this collection and it will be closed

until late 2003.

A search for your ancestor's ship may prove to be a daunting task but the chance for

success is greatly improved with the resources and help close at hand at The Mariners’

Museum Library. You are invited to try a search! Also, the listed web sites may prove

helpful.

Genealogy Web Sites

www.google.com- a search for “immigrant ships” brought 94,700 hits, many of which are

duplicates.

www.ancestry.com and www.rootsweb.com- are co-sponsors of the Immigrant Ships

Transcribers Guild, ISTG, (http://istg.rootsweb.com) formed in late Sept. 1998. It

consists of over 500 volunteers who are transcribing passenger lists. Currently over 4000

lists have been indexed and placed on web. Sort by port of emigration or date. It gives

name, age, gender, occupation, country of citizenship, number of bags, travel status, city

or area of previous residence.

www.cyndislist.com- excellent guide to online genealogy resources, mentions sources for

passenger ship lists. Guide to over 40,000 genealogy web sites.

www.ellisisland.org- passenger lists from 1892-1924, selected photographs of immigrant

vessels. You can order vessel images at $10 per image for 5x7 and $20 for 8x10.

www.familysearch.com- sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints

(LDS). 600 million names in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) and other major

resources, including microfilm from around the world. Includes: military, church and

court records. Some of family lists created by individuals and may have errors,

discrepancies.

www.mariner.org- American steamship lines and books on immigration, archives being

added.

www.mystic.org -selected ship registers online.

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship

Vol. 7, No. 1 29 June 2003

www.nara.gov- order searches of passenger lists, and descriptions of major record .

Start Your Voyage

Search www.mariner.org/librarchives

Send e-mail to: library@mariner.org

Visit the Library, Monday -Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except holidays.

Special thanks to

Elaine Killam, Research Assistant, bibliographies.

John Colletta’s, They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your

Immigrant Ancestor’s Arrival Records.

Eric Sager's, Maritime Capital: the Shipping Industry in Atlantic

Canada 1820-1914.

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship

Lodge in his honor. From around 1957 to 1970, it was owned by Claude and Arline

Lanciano as their residence.

Today, Charlie keeps an office in a small

building at the court circle. He tells us that Dr.

Leonard Morris had his doctor’s office in the

building for forty -seven years. Dr. Morris was a well

liked black doctor that served the local black

population near the court house. There was no

plumbing or water at the building, so he had to go

to the nearby Kerns well for his water supply.

Also, Charlie stated that at one time there were

twenty-seven mills in Gloucester, one of which was

Kerns’ Mill. These mills were used to grind corn and

wheat. Unique to this area were the tide mills with

their elaborate wooden cog wheels and reversing mechanism. As the water tide direction

changed, the operator reversed the gear drive mechanism to keep the grinding stones

turning in the same direction. The windmills had a spindle device that allowed an operator

to adjust the blades into the wind direction. These mills were not as reliable since the wind

direction and intensity was always changing, whereas, the tides always came in and went

out.

Long active with the Boy Scouts and sailing, Mr. Kerns said the log cabin at the

Botetourt School site was built in 1936 under the WPA Act for the scouts. He has been

active in scouting for sixty -two years. His sailing trips took him from Gloucester to

Martha’s Vineyard and on trips to the Bahamas.

Charles Kerns, Sr., has led an active life and provided many services to Gloucester

County and to the people that live here. He is a great story -teller, an interesting person to

know and has to be the most avid “collector” I ever met! We enjoyed his talk and are proud

to have him as a member of our Society. ‡

(Continued from page 22)

Vol. 7, No. 1 30 June 2003

This original poem was submitted by

our member, Pat Perkinson, for the

enjoyment of our many "old house"

genealogists. Pat drew inspiration

from the years that she and her

husband, Bert, labored to restore her

ancestral estate, known as “Prospect.”

in Middlesex County

Old House People

There are those like myself who, for reasons arcane,

choose to live in old houses. We constantly strain

for nocturnal nuances, deep mournful groans,

other sounds sans receptors in our too -human brains.

Though we are perhaps old by measure of our kind

we long to share secrets of an earlier time.

With eyes and ears eager, we keep hoping to find

the stories old houses hold locked in heart pine.

We search chimney bricks, ever looking for marks

scratched on their surface by some patriarch’s

weather-worn hand-carved initials or number,

indicia to help an old house remember.

When wild winds come up, rattle eave and rafter,

we’re sure we hear wails that confirm what we’re after:

tales told by old-timers swear the house harbors a ghost

who sings “Kathleen Mavorneen” with a chorus of mad laughter.

Hieroglyphics on hearths, Roman numerals on blinds,

diamond-etched window panes – we savor the signs.

Sure, we’ll pore over old records for documentation,

but for much that we know we’ve no sane explanation.

Pat Royal Perkinson

Copyright @ 2003

By Pat Royal Perkinson

Vol. 7, No. 1 31 June 2003

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

By Robert R. Harper

John Clayton, the Great Botanist of America

For more than two hundred years, historians have speculated over, searched for, and

written about the possible location of the home and garden of John Clayton. This quest

has resulted in the publication of two books, dozens of articles and numerous scholarly

research papers that have chronicled the known facts, urban legends, and plain fantasy

relating to the man who served for fifty -three years as clerk of Gloucester County, author,

cartographer, plantation owner, land speculator, father of eight children, and was called in

his lifetime, “Mr. Clayton the Great Botanist of America.” Now, located on a 39 -foot rise in

the Mathews County landscape known locally as “Windsor Farm,” an acre hilltop is giving

up details that some day may give closure to this frustrating enigma in John Clayton’s life.

John Clayton, the botanist, arrived in Virginia about 1715, probably taking up

residence with his father who had established himself in Williamsburg a decade earlier.

John Clayton, Senior, was a “barrister -at-law,” who first found employment as a secretary

to Governor Nott. The elder Clayton rose quickly within his profession, and in 1713, was

appointed Attorney General of Virginia. Governor Spotswood, who called the senior

Clayton, “as fair a character as anyone I ever knew of that profession,” recommended him

for the appointment. It is generally believed that the Attorney General rented the Nelson -

Galt House on Francis Street near the Capitol, where he died November 18, 1737.

Of John Clayton, the botanist, nothing concrete is known of his education or early life

in Williamsburg. Speculation places him as having studied at Eton College near London,

where Clayton's father, grandfather and other relatives attended. We know Clayton read

French; and he states that he studied Latin during his youth. Also, he had a knowledge of

the law, business practices, and higher mathematics.

In 1720, Clayton appears for the first time in the Gloucester County record as clerk of

the court, filling a seat vacated by Peter Beverley who had been appointed to the Governor’s

Council that same year. The council was made up of only the most influential planters in

Virginia. Clayton solidified his ties to Virginia’s ruling class by taking as his bride Peter

Beverley’s granddaughter. However, much of the credit for this appointment must go to

the influence of Attorney General John Clayton who secured the clerkship of Hanover

County for his second son, Arthur, at the same time.

On June 2, 1723, Clerk John Clayton married Elizabeth Whiting, daughter of Major

Henry Whiting of Elmington Plantation, a mile to the south of Clayton’s supposed home.

Major Whiting’s wife was Anne, the daughter of Peter Beverley whose office is rumored to

have been opposite the main gate of Elmington. Many have speculated and actually

published that John and Elizabeth Clayton were married at Ware Church in Gloucester, but

the one scrap of surviving document reveals only that the bride and groom were “both of

Gloucester County.” To this union eight children were born between 1724 and 1737, six of

whom lived to maturity.

(Continued on page 34)

Vol. 7, No. 1 32 June 2003

Descendants of John Clayton

1 John Clayton, b. 1694, d. Dec 15, 1773

+Elizabeth Whiting, b. 1702, d. 1771

2 Catherine Clayton, b. abt 1724

2 John Clayton, b. 1725, d. 1826

+Elizabeth Willis, b. Jan 12, 1728/29, d. aft 1782

3 Anne Clayton, b. abt 1749, d. abt 1784

+Henry Landon Davies, b. abt 1735, d. Mar 1, 1808

4 Nicholas Clayton Davies, b. Feb 27, 1769, d. Jun 17, 1814

+Elizabeth Crawford, b. 1772, d. Apr 2, 1820

4 Arthur Landon Davies, b. Oct 16, 1770, d. Apr 25, 1840**

+Elizabeth Whiting Pryor, b. abt 1780, d. Apr 18, 1813

*2nd wife of Arthur Landon Davies:

+Lucy Clayton Pryor, b. abt 1772, d. Oct 19, 1823

4 Catherine Eliza Davies, b. Nov 19, 1772

4 Samuel Boyle Davies, b. Dec 22, 1774

4 Edith Landon Davies, b. Apr 17, 1777

4 Henrianne Davies, b. Jan 27, 1780

4 Tamerlane Whiting Davies, b. Nov 11, 1782

3 John Willis Clayton, b. 1750, d. Aug 12, 1782

+Mary Pettus, b. abt 1750

3 Mildred Clayton, b. 1752

3 William Willis Clayton, b. 1758, d. aft 1781

3 Henry Clayton, b. 1765

3 Lucy Whiting Clayton, b. abt 1770

+Nathaniel Manson, b. abt 1770

*2nd husband of Lucy Whiting Clayton:

+Henry Landon Davies, b. abt 1735, d. Mar 1, 1808

4 Addison Davies, b. 1789

4 Dr. Howell Davies, b. 1795

3 Elizabeth Clayton, b. abt 1772

3 Thomas Lewis Clayton, b. abt 1774

3 Arthur Clayton, b. abt 1776

2 Capt. Jasper Clayton, b. abt 1729, d. May 1779

+__?__ Whiting, b. abt 1730

3 Jasper Clayton, Jr., b. 1750

3 +Courtney Baylor, d. Mar 1777

4 Jasper S. Clayton

3 Catherine Clayton, b. abt 1752

+Christopher Pryor, d. abt 1745, d. 1803

4 Julianna Pryor, b. 1772, d. Jan 26, 1818

+William Robins, b. Sep 25, 1770, d. 1846

4 John Clayton Pryor, b. 1778

+Elizabeth Armistead Tyler, b. Jul 18, 1798

*2nd wife of John Clayton Pryor:

+Maria Smith Armistead

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

Vol. 7, No. 1 33 June 2003

4 Elizabeth Whiting Pryor, b. 1780, d. Apr 18, 1813

+Arthur Landon Davies, b. Oct 16, 1770, d. Apr 25, 1840

4 Harry Ann Whiting Beverly Pryor, b. abt 1783, d. Jun 7, 1831

+John Reade Cary, Sr., b. 1783, d. Dec 14, 1825

3 Thomas Whiting Clayton, b. 1752, d. 1784

3 John Clayton, b. 1754

2 William Clayton, b. abt 1733, d. 1797

+Elvina __?__

3 Jasper Clayton, b. 1762

2 Lucy Whiting Clayton, b. abt 1735

+__?__ Livingston, b. abt 1735

*2nd husband of Lucy Whiting Clayton:

+John Hughes, b. Mar 24, 1722/23

3 Jasper Clayton Hughes., b. 1757, d. Aug 19, 1821

+Ann Tomkies, d. abt 1760

4 Susan Hughes , b. 1812

3 Thomas Hughes, b. 1759

3 Maj. John Hughes

3 Capt. Henry Hughes

2 Thomas Clayton, b. abt 1737

2 Arthur Clayton, b. 1739

** Three of John Clayton’s descendants served as Clerks of Court for Gloucester County

from 1818 to 1887: Arthur Landon Davies (1818 -1835), John Reade Cary (1837-1867), John

Samuel Cooke (1870-1887). The Family Tree Searcher, Vol. 4, No. 2, Dec. 2000, pp. 19-27.

Chart compiled from:

Database of Robert Harper.

Rootsweb database: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/

Ancestors of John Clayton

The Great Botanist of America

Sir Jasper Clayton

b. abt 1600, m. May 1, 1624, d. Sep 1660

John Clayton

b. abt 1630, m. 1664

Mary Thompson

b. abt 1605, d. Feb 1691/92

John Clayton, Sr.

b. 1665, d. Nov 18, 1737

William Bowyer

Alice Bowyer

b. abt 1640, d. 1718

Margaret Weld

John Clayton

b. 1694, m. Elizabeth Whiting, d. Dec 15, 1773

Lucy __?__

b. abt 1665

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

Vol. 7, No. 1 34 June 2003

The first view of Clayton as a botanist was in 1734 with his collection of eighty

classified plants near his home. The following year Clayton sent the plants to the English

naturalist, Mark Catesby at Oxford, who forwarded them to Jan Frederick Gronovius in

Leiden. Gronovius passed the Clayton specimens to Carl Linnaeus, thus beginning the

chain of events that led to Gronovius publishing “ Flora Virginica” in 1739, the first

important book on North American plants. This book was based on what Clayton termed,

“A Catalogue of Plants, Fruits, and Trees Native to Virginia,” a manuscript meant as a gift

for the private library of Gronovius and not for publication. The book went to print

without Clayton’s permission, but Gronovius explained the situation away as a need to

preserve Clayton’s work so it would not be lost in some accident. Clayton’s work at

discovering and classifying over 800 native plants would continue for another four

decades, leading not only to scholarly writings of his own and many honors from Europe

and America, but also to Gronovious publishing a second part to Flora Virginica in 1743.

An expanded version of the same work was published by Laurens Theodore Gronovius at

Leiden in 1762, under his father’s name.

By 1738, Clayton’s plantation and garden were well established when the Quaker

botanist, John Bartram of Philadelphia, visited Gloucester County as part of his eleven

hundred mile journey. Arriving on the Middlesex shore, Bartram wrote of his “crossing

Pianketank rode to John Claytons,” but added, “I had the misfortune of a grievous

disapointment for Clayton was gone towards the mountains to seek after some land there.”

Though Bartram finds, “… there garden is poorly furnished with Curiosities…” He found

“John Claytons and Col. Birds (William Byrd of Westover) is best furnished with variety of

plants…” In another version of the same letter Bartram replaced Byrd’s garden with John

Custis of Williamsburg and called it, “best Furnish’d next John Claytons of any.” It would

be 1760 before Bartram visited Clayton again, but this time he left us no lengthy

description of his trip or his impressions of Clayton’s garden. Though many prominent

Virginians visited John Clayton, some of whom kept diaries, none revealed the exact

location of his home. Clayton lived in Gloucester until his death in late 1773 or early 1774.

In his will that was probated on January 6, 1774, Clayton instructed that: “… there be no

funeral preached at my funeral or afterwards … and none of my family … or relations go

into mourning … and that my body be buried near my wife’s.” Clayton’s personal papers

and lifetime of flora research were taken to William Clayton, Clerk of New Kent County, for

safekeeping against invading British troops at the start of the American Revolution. On

July 12, 1787, an escaped prisoner named John Price Posey set fire to the New Kent prison,

and as an afterthought, the clerk’s office. The stout brick walls and reinforced iron locks

that had protected the future’s most valuable link to John Clayton against the British

through five years of war were no match for “fence rails, shingles, steel tinderbox and a

flint.”

Windsor Archaeological Project

In early 2002, it became the concern of two Gloucester historians, Lorna Wass and

Boyd Gwyn, that the site called Windsor might be destroyed by development after the

unfortunate passing of the owner Mrs. Margaret Armistead. Since the 1950s, Mrs.

Armistead and her late husband, Willard, had allowed many interested historians to

trespass on the farm and allowed the Garden Club of Mathews to erect a memorial gate to

John Clayton fronting the modern day highway. Her hope was to one day have the site

archaeologically explored and prove or disprove that John Clayton had indeed lived there.

On the request of Mrs. Wass and Mr. Gwyn, four friends with archaeological backgrounds

(Continued from page 31)

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

Vol. 7, No. 1 35 June 2003

formulated a plan of logistics to

salvage as much information as

possible before the site would

be destroyed. The plan would

cover a broad range of topics,

ranging from site research to

funding for excavation materials

and weatherproofing open test

units, grass cutting and debris

placement, to the washing,

conservation and long-term

storage of artifacts. Within

ninety days, funds had been

raised, materials purchased, the

site mapped, a grid system laid

out, and the first secrets of the

plantation began to be revealed.

Since August of 2002, the

volunteers of the Windsor

Archaeological Project have

excavated twenty-two 5’ by 5’

test units selectively placed

across the acre hilltop.

Separated into two different,

though connected areas of investigation, one

centers on the possible garden area, while the

second concentrates on the mansion site

foundations. Nearly 60,000 pounds of soil and

building debris have been examined and over

10,000 artifacts recovered, ranging from the late

seventeenth century ceramic fragments to modern

day pull-tabs. While not a single artifact personally

attributable to John Clayton or his family has been

recovered, the vast majority of eighteenth century

ceramics fall precisely into the date range of John

Clayton’s supposed ownership of circa 1720 to

1773. The tiny amount of seventeenth century

material can easily be explained as previously

owned, but still useful items brought into a new

marriage. The surrounding acreage shows no sign

of earlier occupation except Native American

material going back some 7,000 years. Many

ceramic shards are of the same types ordered by

Elizabeth Clayton through her husband’s shipping

agents, John Norton and Sons of London. These

include “Queens china” (Cream ware), “Earthen

tortoise shell plates,” “blue and white china,” and

utilitarian kitchen ceramics “Brown glazed,” though

much research remains into these orders.

Location of Windsor Archaeological Project

Mathews, Virginia

Gloucester

County

Mathews

County

Rt. 3

Rt. 14

Rt. 198

Rt. 14

Pianketank River

Windsor

Site

Lisa Harper of Gloucester excavating

within the southern corner of the main

house foundation at Windsor

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

Vol. 7, No. 1 36 June 2003

Excavations in the possible garden area revealed the remains of a row of post holes

spaced ten feet apart, forming a fence line at an angle askew to nineteenth century

buildings, but amazingly similar in appearance to those lines drawn on the only surviving

document showing property owned by John Clayton in 1754. From one of the post holes

came a remarkably preserved section of cedar post and in the post filling two shards of

ceramic were found, dating the fence line from the latter half of the eighteenth century. A

second post hole in the continuous fence line showed signs of having been repaired during

its lifetime. A larger burned post and partially exposed oyster shell and clam walkway

were also encountered in the garden units, but are more likely of late 19

th

or early 20

th

century origin. It is unfortunate that about 75% of the garden appears to have been

destroyed when one of the owners dug an eleven -foot deep trench to bury the remains of a

dilapidated chicken house and barn.

Initial probing disclosed a brick foundation 50 feet west of the current 1880’s

farmhouse where family tradition stated the old house was located. This gives credence to

a local legend that “John Clayton’s brick walled garden was found 50 feet from the house.”

At 50’-1” west of the current farmhouse a planting hole was uncovered directly overlying

Section of cedar post recovered from the possible

garden area dating from the mid to late eighteenth

century.

Fragile remains of a chicken egg recovered from

the filling of Windsor's clay floor.

Melted window glass (left)

found in the “burned layer” of

the foundation filling. On the

right is a large section of

windowpane warped by the

fire and recovered from the

“destruction layer” of the

house fill deposited when the

house was torn down in the

1870’s.

Rim fragment from a plate

molded with a “feather-edge”

pattern introduced about 1765.

This type of ceramic is

referred to as creamware by

modern day collectors, but was

called “Queensware” by

Elizabeth Clayton when she

ordered it from Great Britain

on her husband’s shipping

account.

Fragile half of a brass cuff link

impressed with the design of a

fowled anchor. Dating from the

mid to late eighteenth century

it might have been dropped by

Captain Jasper Clayton who

owned Windsor from 1773

until 1779 or a visiting British

Officer during the American

Revolution. It was recovered

from the filling of a 19

th

century planting bed near the

main house.

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

Vol. 7, No. 1 37 June 2003

the brick foundation, which could easily have been confused for a garden wall. The

excavating of selected test units over the foundations has revealed a house 24 by 16 feet,

robbed along both end walls down to the last course of brick, but basically intact along

both 24-foot sidewalls. The remaining walls are 6 courses high, two bricks (1 ’-2” in

thickness), laid in English bond and in some areas plastered on the interior.

Two wing additions of 16-foot width and 12-foot length have been exposed. The

south wing appears to have burned along with the main block of the house, but the north

wing appears to have survived the fire and provided the family with shelter while the new

house was under construction. It is believed that timbers salvaged from the wing might

have been used in building the 19

th

century smokehouse that lies on an angle to both

houses, but exists only a few feet from the robbed wing foundation. The most massive

timbers in the smoke house are hand hewn, held in place with wooden pegs and show signs

of reuse from another structure. The smaller beams are machine sawn (probably in a water

powered saw mill) and are affixed with mass manufactured iron nails.

Insurance policies of 1802 and 1806, taken out by John Clayton’s grandson, Jasper, on

his plantation called “Windsor,” describe his house as “24 by 16, two story high first story

of Brick at 8-feet pitch 2

nd

of wood about 10-feet Do [pitch]. The lower floor of the large

room several feet below the surface of the Earth.” At each end was a wing, “12 by 16,

under-pinned with brick, built of wood.” This policy appears to match the foundation

uncovered in all aspects, but tells us only that the house existed by 1802. The policy also

informs us that $250 in value was deducted from the structure for “decay or bad repair,”

leading us to draw the conclusion that the house was old at the time. How old is one of the

unanswered questions because twenty Virginia summers and winters can age the

appearance of a house far beyond its actual years. What is certain is that in 1773, John

Clayton willed his 450-acre home plantation to his son, Captain Jasper Clayton, who willed

it in turn to his son, Jasper, at his death in 1779. This Jasper went on to be the first

surveyor for Mathews County and married a Berkeley daughter of Barn Elms in neighboring

Middlesex County. It was this Jasper that took out insurance policies in 1802 and 1806

and was the last Clayton to own the property.

The Windsor Archaeological Project will have been in existence one year in August of

2003. The plan of simple salvage archaeology has turned into an extended project of two

to five years with the prospect that the site may be acquired by a member of the Armistead

family and preserved. The 2003 – 2004 digging season will concentrate on excavating the

southern end of the mansion house containing a chimney base that was uncovered by

archaeological volunteer, Lisa Harper, as this article was being written. Another section of

the possible garden area will be overseen by excavator, Lorna Wass, and excavation

volunteer, Linda Breaks, will continue her work on exploring the foundation walls.

In April, the Windsor Archaeological Project became a division of the John Clayton

Chapter – Virginia Native Plant Society. The Gloucester based chapter will help with

funding and allow tax -deductible contributions to be donated to them that will be used for

needed expenses related to the investigation of the site. Contributions can be mailed to,

John Clayton Chapter – Virginia Native Plant Society, P.O. Box 677, Yorktown, VA 23690.

Please designate the contribution for the Windsor Archaeological Project. Anyone wishing

information on this site that played such an important part in the botanical history of

Virginia, America, and Europe, may contact Lorna Wass at (804) 693 –3403 or

WindsorArchaeologicalProject@hotmail.com. ‡

The Archaeological Quest for John Clayton

Vol. 7, No. 1 38 June 2003

Taliaferro Family of Gloucester County, Virginia

by L. Roane Hunt

The Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia plans to publish a book in 2003

containing the federal census for Gloucester County from 1790 to 1840. This will

cover the census years prior to those published by Cy Rilee which covered 1850 to

1880. The earliest census of 1790 and 1800 were lost, and partial lists for 1783 and

1784 were published instead. Beginning in 1850, the names of all the individuals were

listed for each household. Prior to 1850, only the names of the head -of-households

were given; therefore, these census records are not as helpful for genealogical

research. However, in some cases, family lines can be traced and additional

information can be extracted to further illuminate the family history. This book

project plans to include an appendix that contains brief articles of selected families that

demonstrate the use of these early census records. The present article is an example of

what is planned for the appendix.

The Taliaferro family moved to Gloucester County at the end of the Revolutionary

War. Apparently, they were descendants of William Taliaferro (1715 -1778) and Elizabeth

Holden (1719-????) of “Hockley” on the York River in King and Queen County. (See chart on

pages 40-41.) They had at least four children: Philip, Mary, Katherine, and Richard, who

married into Gloucester families including Baytop, Throckmorton, Booth, and Stubbs. Early

Gloucester census records help describe the entry of the Taliaferro households. The

earliest was Richard Taliaferro (1751 -????) in 1784 in the Petsworth Parish (1784P), and he

is listed in the census records as follows:

1784P/ Taliaferro, Richard, --- White Souls: (6), Dwellings: (1), Other Buildings: (1).

Various Gloucester men served under Capt. Philip Taliaferro (1745 -1791) in the war.

He married Sarah Baytop (1745 -????) of Gloucester County, daughter of James Baytop and

Sarah Smith. Their children established homes in Gloucester. The first, Dr. William

Taliaferro (1770-1851) appeared in the 1810 census, and he was listed in each census

through 1850. He owned “Church Hill” located adjacent to Ware Parish Church.

Census records:

1810/ Pg.413a/Ln.691/ Taliaferro, William, --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (44), WHITE

MALES: under 10: (3), 26 under 45: (2), WHITE FEMALES: 16 under 26: (1), SLAVES: (38).

In 1820, Dr. William Taliaferro was joined by his brother, Philip Taliaferro (1779 -

1848). Philip paid taxes on 383 acres of land two miles southeast of the courthouse. This

tract was known as the “Warehouse.” He served as Commissioner of Revenue beginning in

1827, and he served as the second pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church of Gloucester.

Census records:

1820/ Pg.198/Ln.783/ Taliaferro, William, Dr, --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (59), WHITE

MALES: 10 under 16: (3), 45 and over: (1), WHITE FEMALES: 10 under 16: (1), 26 under

45: (1), OCCUPATIONS: Agriculture: (18), Manufacturing: (1), MALE SLAVES: under 14:

(7), 14 under 26: (7), 26 under 45: (16), 45 and over: (3), FEMALE SLAVES: under 14: (5),

14 under 26: (4), 26 under 45: (9), 45 and over: (2).

1820/ Pg.198/Ln.784/ Taliaferro, Philip, --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (32), WHITE MALES:

Vol. 7, No. 1 39 June 2003

under 10: (4), 16 under 26: (2), 26 under 45: (1), WHITE FEMALES: 16 under 26: (1),

OCCUPATIONS: Agriculture: (11), MALE SLAVES: under 14: (7), 14 under 26: (2), 26

under 45: (5), FEMALE SLAVES: under 14: (4), 14 under 26: (1), 26 under 45: (4), FREE

COLORED FEMALES: 26 under 45: (1).

In 1830, Dr. William Taliaferro and Philip Taliaferro were joined by their brother,

James Baytop Taliaferro (1775 -1841) of Roaring Springs.

Also listed was Warner Throckmorton Taliaferro (1802 -

1877), son of Dr. William Taliaferro and Mary

Throckmorton and grandson of Warner Thockmorton.

Warner T. Taliaferro of “Belle Ville” served in the State

Senate and his portrait hung on the courthouse wall.

Census records:

1830/ Pg.188/Ln.793/ Taliaferro, William, Dr ---

TOTAL RESIDENTS: (69), WHITE MALES: 10 under 15:

(1), 15 under 20: (1), 20 under 30: (1), 50 under 60: (1),

MALE SLAVES: under 10: (7), 10 under 24: (10), 24

under 36: (10), 36 under 56: (8), 56 under 100: (3), 100

and over: (1), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10: (9), 10 under

24: (2), 24 under 36: (13), 56 under 100: (2).

1830/ Pg.188/Ln.794/ Taliaferro, Warner P. ---

TOTAL RESIDENTS: (95), WHITE MALES: under 5: (1), 5

under 10: (1), 20 under 30: (1), WHITE FEMALES: under

5: (1), 20 under 30: (1), 40 under 50: (1), MALE SLAVES:

under 10: (21), 10 under 24: (11), 24 under 36: (4), 36

under 56: (2), 56 under 100: (4), FEMALE SLAVES: under

10: (17), 10 under 24: (12), 24 under 36: (3), 36 under

56: (7), 56 under 100: (8), COLORED PERSON: DEAF &

DUMB- 14-25: (1).

1830/ Pg.188/Ln.795/ Taliaferro, Philip --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (36), WHITE MALES:

10 under 15: (1), 15 under 20: (1), 40 under 50: (1), WHITE FEMALES: 20 under 30: (2),

MALE SLAVES: 10 under 24: (6), 24 under 36: (3), 36 under 56: (1), 56 under 100: (2),

FEMALE SLAVES: under 10: (4), 10 under 24: (5), 24 under 36: (4), 36 under 56: (1), 56

under 100: (2), FREE COLORED MALES: 24 under 36: (2), FREE COLORED FEMALES: 24

under 36: (1).

1830/ Pg.188/Ln.801/ Taliaferro, James P. --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (40), WHITE MALES:

10 under 15: (1), 15 under 20: (1), 50 under 60: (1), WHITE FEMALES: 5 under 10: (2), 10

under 15: (2), 20 under 30: (1), 40 under 50: (1), MALE SLAVES: under 10: (8), 10 under

24: (6), 24 under 36: (2), 36 under 56: (2), 56 under 100: (2), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10:

(2), 10 under 24: (3), 36 under 56: (4), 56 under 100: (2).

In 1840, Dr. William Taliaferro, Philip Taliaferro, and James Baytop Taliaferro were

joined by their brother, George B. Taliaferro (1779 -1844). Matilda Ann Roane (1800-1867)

is listed next to her father, James Baytop Taliaferro. Her husband, Major Benjamin Roane

died in 1837 in King and Queen County, and she moved close to her family. Warner T.

Taliaferro, who is listed again, was the father of Gen. William Booth Taliaferro. He was the

highest ranking officer in the Civil War from Gloucester County.

Census records:

1840/ Pg.352/Ln.105/ Taliaferro, George B. --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (16), WHITE

MALES: 10 under 15: (1), 20 under 30: (2), 30 under 40: (1), MALE SLAVES: under 10: (5),

(Continued on page 42)

Warner Throckmorton Taliaferro

State Senate

Taliaferro Family of Gloucester County, Virginia

Vol. 7, No. 1 40 June 2003

Descendants of William Taliaferro

King and Queen County, Virginia

1 Col. William Taliaferro, b. 1715, d. 1778

+Elizabeth Holden, b. abt 1719

2 Capt. Philip Taliaferro, b. 1745, d. 1791

+Sarah Baytop, b. abt 1745

3 Dr. William Taliaferro, b. 1770

+Mary Throckmorton, b. abt 1772

4 Warner Throckmorton Taliaferro, b. Mar 3, 1802, d. Oct 17, 1877

+Frances Booth, b. 1802, d. Apr 3, 1824

5 Gen. William Booth Taliaferro, b. Dec 28, 1822, d. Feb 28, 1898

+Sally Nivison Lyons, b. Jan 4, 1828, d. Oct 18, 1899

*2nd wife of Warner Throckmorton Taliaferro:

+Leah Sedden, b. Feb 27, 1810, d. Aug 12, 1895

5 Philip Alexander Taliaferro, b. Jun 11, 1827, d. Jun 27, 1901

+Sarah L. McCandish, b. 1829

5 Susan Sedden Taliaferro, b. Nov 27, 1829

5 Thomas Sedden Taliaferro, b. 1831

5 Warner Throckmorton Taliaferro, Jr, b. 1833

5 Edwin Taliaferro, b. 1836

*2nd wife of William Taliaferro:

+Harriet Throckmorton, b. abt 1780

4 Col. Alexander Galt Taliaferro, b. 1808

4 Dr. William Taliaferro, Jr, b. 1812, d. Jul 14, 1870

3 James Baytop Taliaferro, b. Apr 4, 1775, d. Aug 14, 1841

+Catherine Booth, b. Dec 23, 1779, d. Nov 3, 1823

4 Philip Taliaferro, b. Nov 18, 1796, d. Jan 9, 1819

4 Mary Booth Taliaferro, b. Jan 2, 1799, d. Sep 13, 1801

4 Matilda Ann Taliaferro, b. Sep 3, 1800, d. Apr 17, 1867

+Major Benjamin Roane, b. Jan 23, 1785, d. May 1, 1837

5 Emily Catherine Roane, b. Mar 30, 1829, d. Dec 9, 1901

+Junius Brutus Browne, b. Sep 12, 1830, d. Aug 9, 1878

5 George Alvin Roane, b. Aug 1, 1834, d. Jun 4, 1868

+Margaret Ann Booth, b. abt 1845, d. 1921

5 Harriet Elizabeth Roane, b. Nov 23, 1837, d. Mar 17, 1916

+Samuel Franklin Roane, b. Jul 25, 1821, d. Oct 20, 1877

4 Mary Frances Taliaferro, b. Feb 12, 1803, d. Jan 3, 1827

+Richard Shackleford, b. Dec 18, 1801, d. May 1858

4 George Booth Taliaferro, b. Mar 10, 1805

4 Sarah Baytop Taliaferro, b. Apr 14, 1807, d. Jun 5, 1885

+William Ward Spencer, b. Dec 22, 1801, d. Jul 10, 1865

4 Eliza Ellen Taliaferro, b. Aug 23, 1809, d. Apr 27, 1823

4 James William Taliaferro, b. Oct 14, 1812, d. Aug 17, 1814

4 Thomas Booth Taliaferro, b. Aug 16, 1816, d. May 31, 1879

+Mary Munford Sinclair, b. 1822, d. 1902

Taliaferro Family of Gloucester County, Virginia

Vol. 7, No. 1 41 June 2003

4 Harriet Amanda Taliaferro, b. Sep 30, 1818, d. Jul 6, 1872

+Charles Carter Field, b. 1822

4 Margaret Catherine Taliaferro, b. Apr 23, 1822, d. Sep 3, 1836

*2nd wife of James Baytop Taliaferro:

+Elizabeth L. Hackney, b. 1786

3 Rev. Philip Taliaferro, b. Oct 3, 1779, d. May 11, 1848

+Mary Fanny Oliver

4 James Oliver Taliaferro

+Lucy Taylor

*2nd wife of Philip Taliaferro:

+Elizabeth Piemont

3 Richard Taliaferro, b. abt 1777

+Margaret Holden Stubbs, b. abt 1777

3 George B. Taliaferro, b. abt 1779

+Louisa Dixon

3 Thomas Taliaferro, b. abt 1783

+Sarah Oliver

3 Mary (Polly) Taliaferro, b. abt 1785

+Matthew Kemp, b. 1780

3 John Taliaferro, b. abt 1789

3 Sarah Taliaferro, b. abt 1789

2 Mary Holden Taliaferro, b. abt 1747

+George Booth, b. abt 1745, d. 1786

3 Anne Buckner Booth, d. 1820

+Stephen Field, b. 1747, d. Apr 3, 1798

3 Sarah Booth, b. abt 1753

+Thomas Baytop, b. Oct 11, 1751, d. Oct 11, 1812

3 Catherine Booth, b. Dec 23, 1779, d. Nov 3, 1823

+James Baytop Taliaferro, b. Apr 4, 1775, d. Aug 14, 1841

(Family record given previously.)

2 Katherine Holden Taliaferro, b. abt 1749

+John Stubbs

2 Richard Taliaferro, b. 1751

+Elizabeth ?

Chart compiled from:

Stubbs, Dr. and Mrs. William Carter, Two Virginia Families: Descendants of Mordicai

Cooke and Thomas Booth. New Orleans: published privately, 1925.

Rootsweb database: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/

Taliaferro Family of Gloucester County, Virginia

Vol. 7, No. 1 42 June 2003

10 under 24: (2), 24 under 36: (1), FEMALE SLAVES: 10 under 24: (2), 24 under 36: (2),

Persons employed in- Agriculture: (1), C: (3).

1840/ Pg.352/Ln.106/ Taliaferro, James B. ---

TOTAL RESIDENTS: (47), WHITE MALES: 60 under 70:

(1), WHITE FEMALES: 15 under 20: (2), 30 under 40:

(1), 50 under 60: (1), MALE SLAVES: under 10: (8), 10

under 24: (11), 24 under 36: (2), 36 under 56: (3), 56

under 100: (2), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10: (7), 10

under 24: (4), 24 under 36: (1), 36 under 56: (4),

Persons employed in- Agriculture: (18).

1840/ Pg.360/Ln.352/ Roane, Matilda A. --- TOTAL

RESIDENTS: (10), WHITE MALES: under 5: (1), WHITE

FEMALES: under 5: (1), 5 under 10: (1), 30 under 40:

(1), 40 under 50: (1), MALE SLAVES: 10 under 24: (1),

56 under 100: (1), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10: (1), 10

under 24: (1), 24 under 36: (1), Persons employed in-

Agriculture: (2).

1840/ Pg.360/Ln.353/ Taliaferro, Philip --- TOTAL

RESIDENTS: (38), WHITE MALES: 20 under 30: (1), 60

under 70: (1), WHITE FEMALES: 30 under 40: (1), MALE

SLAVES: under 10: (6), 10 under 24: (3), 24 under 36:

(6), 56 under 100: (2), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10: (7),

10 under 24: (3), 24 under 36: (3), 36 under 56: (4), 56

under 100: (1), Persons employed in- Agriculture: (18).

1840/ Pg.361/Ln.390/ Taliaferro, William, Sr., Dr. --

- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (61), WHITE MALES: 10 under 15:

(1), 15 under 20: (1), 20 under 30: (1), 60 under 70: (1),

FREE COLORED MALES: 10 under 24: (1), FREE COLORED FEMALES: 36 under 56: (1),

MALE SLAVES: under 10: (8), 10 under 24: (7), 24 under 36: (7), 36 under 56: (4), 56

under 100: (2), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10: (7), 10 under 24: (5), 24 under 36: (8), 36

under 56: (7), Persons employed in- Agriculture: (18), PE: (2).

1840/ Pg.368/Ln.606/ Taliaferro, Warner T. --- TOTAL RESIDENTS: (128), WHITE

MALES: 5 under 10: (3), 10 under 15: (1), 15 under 20: (1), 40 under 50: (1), WHITE

FEMALES: 10 under 15: (1), 30 under 40: (1), MALE SLAVES: under 10: (13), 10 under 24:

(24), 24 under 36: (11), 36 under 56: (6), 56 under 100: (5), FEMALE SLAVES: under 10:

(14), 10 under 24: (18), 24 under 36: (20), 36 under 56: (4), 56 under 100: (5), Persons

employed in- Agriculture: (48), Manufactures & Trades: (15).

The Taliaferro family of Gloucester included physicians, lawyers, and gentlemen

farmers of large estates. In fact, the slave holdings of the Taliaferro households increased

from 38 in 1810 to 290 in 1840, the largest number in Gloucester County. These early

census records can be helpful in genealogical research, at least in some families. ‡

(Continued from page 39)

Gen. William Booth Taliaferro

CSA

Taliaferro Family of Gloucester County, Virginia

Vol. 7, No. 1 43 June 2003

Gloucester Mortality Schedule Taken with 1850 Census

Persons who died during the year ending 1st June, 1850

Submitted by Blondell Whiting

Transcribed by L. Roane Hunt

During our last GGSV meeting, Blondell Whiting shared photo -copies of the Mortality

Schedules for Gloucester County for 1850 and 1860. Roane Hunt transcribed them and

typed the data on MS WORD files. The individuals that had surnames on the 1850

Mortality Schedule are presented below. The microfilm record is available through local

library loan from The Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.

Symbols in the data: Sex – M: male, F: female; Race – W: white, B: black, M: mulatto; F:

free, S: slave; MS: married status, S: single, M: married, W: widow or widower; OCC:

Occupation. All we listed were born in Virginia.

Kemp, Mary, age: 37y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M, died

Dec 1849, CAUSE: childbirth, length of illness:

30d.

Riley, Susan, age: 30y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M, died

Sept 1849, length of illness: 30d.

Pointer, Frances, age: 1y, sex: F, race: W, died Oct

1849, CAUSE: pneumonia, length of illness:

7d.

Heath, Joseph, age: 45y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: harness maker, died May 1850, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Heath, Frances, age: 50y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

died Mar 1850, CAUSE: consumption, length

of illness: long.

Jones, Clarissia, age: 35y, sex: F, race: W, OCC:

seamstress, died June 1849, CAUSE: fits,

length of illness: 12d.

King, Rutha, age: 35y, sex: F, race: M/F, OCC:

laborer, died Apr 1850, CAUSE: childbirth,

length of illness: 10d.

French, Alice, age: 40y, sex: F, race: W, OCC:

seamstress, died Mar 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy,

length of illness: 60d.

Corbin, Ann, age: 80y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

OCC: seamstress, died Mar 1850, CAUSE:

bilious fever, length of illness: 6d.

Dobson, Alice R., age: 3y, sex: F, race: W, died

Sept 1849, length of illness: long.

Davis, Maria E., age: 37y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

died Mar 1850, CAUSE: diarrhea, length of

illness: 14d.

Lawson, Richard, age: 25y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

farmer, died Feb 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy,

length of illness: 6d.

Soles, Thomas H., age: 30y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: farmer, died Dec 1849, CAUSE: pleurisy,

length of illness: 21d.

Soles, Sarah, age: 6y, sex: F, race: W, died Sept

1849, CAUSE: bilious fever, length of illness:

15d.

Padget, Thomas, age: 25y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

laborer, died Dec 1849, CAUSE: dropsy,

length of illness: long.

Newcomb, Frances, age: 35y, sex: F, race: W, died

Dec 1849, length of illness: long.

Nelson, Robinson, age: 32y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

lawyer, died Mar 1850, CAUSE: pneumonia,

length of illness: 8d.

Dungy, Henry, age: 45y, sex: M, race: M/F, MS: M,

OCC: carpenter, died Sept 1849, CAUSE:

dropsy, length of illness: long.

Vol. 7, No. 1 44 June 2003

Borum, Stephen, age: 1m, sex: M, race: W, died

Mar 1850, length of illness: 1d.

Hudnall, Mary, age: 60y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

died Dec 1849, CAUSE: bilious fever, length of

illness: 45d.

Hudnall Jr., Stanley S., age: 28y, sex: M, race: W,

OCC: merchant, died Jan 1850, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Walden, William, age: 23y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

laborer, died Jan 1850, CAUSE: pneumonia,

length of illness: 3d.

Walden, Edward, age: 16y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

laborer, died Jan 1850, CAUSE: liver disease,

length of illness: long.

Lane, Keziah, age: 30y, sex: F, race: B/S, OCC:

laborer, died June 1849, CAUSE: smallpox,

length of illness: 15d.

Coatie, John, age: 26y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: farmer, died Mar 1850, length of illness:

long.

Coatie, Elizabeth, age: 24y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

died Mar 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy, length of

illness: 5d.

Lambough, William, age: 30y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: carpenter, died Mar 1850, CAUSE:

pleurisy, length of illness: 10d.

Morris, George, age: 30y, sex: M, race: M/F, MS: M,

OCC: oysterman, died May 1850, CAUSE:

pleurisy, length of illness: 30d.

Medlicott, Hester Ann, age: 1y, sex: F, race: W,

died June 1849, CAUSE: croup, length of

illness: 5d.

Enos, George, age: 56y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: millwright, died Mar 1850, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Gayle, Robert S., age: 1m, sex: M, race: W, died

Sept 1849, CAUSE: dysentery, length of

illness: 30d.

Ransone, Joyce, age: 47y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

died Sept 1849, CAUSE: shot, length of

illness: 40d.

Stubblefield, Foster, age: 11y, sex: M, race: W,

OCC: student, died July 1849, CAUSE:

dysentery, length of illness: 7d.

Leavit, Charles, age: 4y, sex: M, race: W, died July

1849, length of illness: long.

Leavit, Sarah F., age: 1m, sex: F, race: W, died July

1849, length of illness: 35d.

Summerson, Kingham, age: 5y, sex: M, race: W,

died Jan 1850, CAUSE: pneumonia, length of

illness: 14d.

Jordan, Mary, age: 21y, sex: F, race: M/F, OCC:

cook, died Dec 1849, CAUSE: childbirth,

length of illness: 2d.

Dutton, Schuyler, age: 31y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

blacksmith, died Jan 1850, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Kemp, Lucy, age: 5y, sex: F, race: W, died Nov

1849, CAUSE: brain fever, length of illness:

10d.

Booth, Thomas B., age: 19y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

student, died Sept 1849, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Montague, Mary, age: 65y, sex: F, race: B/S, OCC:

laborer, died May 1850, CAUSE: hemorrhage,

length of illness: long.

Montague, Elizabeth, age: 32y, sex: F, race: B/S,

died May 1850, CAUSE: dropsy, length of

illness: long.

Bray, Emily, age: 27y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M, died

Jan 1850, CAUSE: childbirth, length of illness:

1d.

Williams, Alicia, age: 22y, sex: F, race: W, died Apr

1850, length of illness: long.

Walker, Lucy, age: 70y, sex: F, race: W, died July

1849, CAUSE: dropsy, length of illness: long.

Shackleford, Mary J., age: 30y, sex: F, race: W, MS:

M, died Oct 1849, length of illness: long.

Waste, Rebecca, age: 25y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

died Dec 1849, length of illness: 8d.

Waste, William, age: 30y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: oysterman, died Dec 1849, CAUSE:

dysentery, length of illness: 6d.

West, James W., age: 65y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

died Dec 1849, CAUSE: dysentery, length of

illness: 5d.

Johnston, Elizabeth, age: 55y, sex: F, race: W, MS:

W, OCC: housewife, died July 1849, length of

illness: long.

Hall, Mary C., age: 11y, sex: F, race: W, died Jan

1850.

Hall, John, age: 16y, sex: M, race: W, OCC: farmer,

died June 1849, CAUSE: drowned, length of

illness: sudden.

Gloucester Mortality Schedule Taken with 1850 Census

Vol. 7, No. 1 45 June 2003

Padget, Mary J., age: 16y, sex: F, race: W, OCC:

seamstress, died Jan 1850, CAUSE: brain

fever, length of illness: 1d.

Padget, William E., age: 7y, sex: M, race: W, died

Jan 1850, CAUSE: brain fever, length of

illness: 3d.

Padget, James S., age: 4y, sex: M, race: W, died Jan

1850, CAUSE: brain fever, length of illness:

5d.

Wolf, Willington, age: 5y, sex: M, race: W, died Oct

1849, CAUSE: brain fever, length of illness:

1d.

Roane, Elizabeth M., age: 28y, sex: F, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: housewife, died Sept 1849, CAUSE:

congestient, length of illness: 8d.

Hall, Carry, age: 22y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

laborer, died Mar 1850, CAUSE: brain fever,

length of illness: 2d.

Fary, John P., age: 11y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

student, died Feb 1850, CAUSE: brain fever,

length of illness: 2d.

Edwards, Frances, age: 55y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: housewife, died Dec 1849, length of

illness: 6d.

Edwards, Joseph, age: 67y, sex: M, race: W, MS: W,

OCC: farmer, died Dec 1849, CAUSE: pleurisy,

length of illness: sudden.

Horsley, Franklin, age: 14y, sex: M, race: W, died

Nov 1849, CAUSE: pleurisy, length of illness:

6d.

Corr, James, age: 63y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

carpenter, died June 1849, CAUSE:

pneumonia, length of illness: 6d.

Blufoot, Elizabeth, age: 6m, sex: F, race: M/F, died

Sept 1849, CAUSE: ? fever, length of illness:

30d.

Sale, Rebecca, age: 8y, sex: F, race: W, died Feb

1850, CAUSE: brain fever, length of illness:

4d.

Caffee, Fanny B., age: 15y, sex: F, race: W, died

June 1849, CAUSE: measles, length of illness:

6d.

Walker, Ann E., age: 26y, sex: F, race: W, OCC:

housewife, died Aug 1849, CAUSE: dianhold?,

length of illness: 10d.

Taylor, Elizabeth, age: 30y, sex: F, race: B/F, died

July 1849, CAUSE: cholera, length of illness:

1d.

Morris, Frist?, age: 5y, sex: F, race: M/F, died Apr

1850, CAUSE: worms, length of illness: long.

Bramble, Augustine, age: 6y, sex: M, race: M/F,

died June 1849, CAUSE: brain fever, length of

illness: 6d.

Kevan, John W., age: 35y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

died Jan 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy, length of

illness: 3d.

Royster?, Henry F., age: 35y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: farmer, died July 1849, CAUSE:

cholera, length of illness: 6d.

Catlett, Tabb, age: 2y, sex: M, race: W, died June

1849, CAUSE: diarrhea, length of illness: 60d.

Hall, Lorenzo, age: 47y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: farmer, died Apr 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy,

length of illness: 5d.

Saunders, William, age: 50y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

W, OCC: sailor, died Aug 1849, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Smith, Armistead, age: 59y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: farmer, died Nov 1849, CAUSE:

pneumonia, length of illness: 20d.

Woodland, William, age: 45y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: oysterman, died Apr 1850, CAUSE:

pneumonia, length of illness: 14d.

Thompson, Rebecca, age: 85?y, sex: F, race: W,

MS: W, died July 1849, length of illness: 12d.

Williams, Mary A., age: 32y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: housewife, died 1850, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Pointer, Isaac, age: 30y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: farmer, died Dec 1849, CAUSE: cholera.

Fields, Susan, age: 30y, sex: F, race: W, died Oct

1849, CAUSE: dropsy, length of illness: long.

Gregory, Richard, age: 40y, sex: M, race: B/F, OCC:

farmer, died June 1849, CAUSE: cholera,

length of illness: 6d.

Hayes, Elizabeth, age: 40y, sex: F, race: B/F, OCC:

laborer, died June 1849, CAUSE: cholera,

length of illness: 1d.

Dungy, Jerry, age: 40y, sex: M, race: B/F, MS: M,

OCC: sawyer, died 1850, CAUSE: cholera,

length of illness: 6d.

Hill, Lucy C., age: 1y, sex: F, race: B/F, died July

1849, CAUSE: dysentery, length of illness: 7d.

Lemon, Mary E., age: 6y, sex: F, race: M/F, died

Oct 1849, CAUSE: dropsy, length of illness:

long.

Gloucester Mortality Schedule Taken with 1850 Census

Vol. 7, No. 1 46 June 2003

Smith, John W., age: 11y, sex: M, race: W, died

Sept 1849, CAUSE: drowned, length of illness:

sudden.

Watson, Margaret, age: 30y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

died Feb 1850, length of illness: 6h.

Brown, Elizabeth, age: 45y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

OCC: housekeeper, died Dec 1849, length of

illness: 7d.

Kenningham, Claiborne, age: 53y, sex: M, race: W,

MS: M, OCC: farmer, died Jan 1850, CAUSE:

pneumonia, length of illness: 9d.

Newcomb, Margaret, age: 4y, sex: F, race: W, died

Oct 1849, CAUSE: fits.

Hayes, Adeline, age: 6y, sex: F, race: W, died Sept

1849, CAUSE: bilious fever, length of illness:

15d.

Wise, Robert, age: 10m, sex: M, race: W, died June

1849, length of illness: 7d.

Oliver, Foster P., age: 14y, sex: M, race: W, died

May 1850, CAUSE: fits, length of illness: 6h.

Brown, Austin, age: 1y, sex: M, race: W, died Feb

1850, length of illness: 7d.

Barron, Ann H., age: 53y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

died Feb 1850, CAUSE: consumption.

Ambrose, William, age: 35y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: oysterman, died Sept 1849, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: long.

Huson?, Elizabeth, age: 30y, sex: F, race: W, OCC:

housekeeper, died June 1849, CAUSE: cholera,

length of illness: 10d.

Croswell, Mary T., age: 10y, sex: F, race: W, died

Oct 1849, CAUSE: fits, length of illness: 1d.

Blake, Sarah, age: 45y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M, died

Dec 1849, CAUSE: erysipelas, length of

illness: 7d.

Dunn, James H. , age: 22y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

farmer, died June 1849, CAUSE: scrofula,

length of illness: long.

Leavit, Mildred D., age: 90y, sex: F, race: W, died

Nov 1849, length of illness: 14d.

Jenkins, Elizabeth, age: 65y, sex: F, race: W, MS:

W, died Dec 1849, length of illness: long.

Jenkins, Elizabeth, age: 27y, sex: F, race: W, MS:

M, died Aug 1849, CAUSE: bilious fever,

length of illness: 35d.

Smith, Susan, age: 25y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: housewife, died Jan 1850, CAUSE:

burned, length of illness: 1d.

King, Ann E., age: 3y, sex: F, race: W, died June

1849, CAUSE: dysentery, length of illness: 1d.

Shackleford, George, age: 42y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: fisherman, died Apr 1850, length of

illness: 9d.

Lowery, Boswell W., age: 13y, sex: M, race: W, died

Aug 1849, length of illness: long.

Woodly, John, age: 5y, sex: M, race: W, died Mar

1850, CAUSE: pleurisy, length of illness: 21d.

Brushwood, William T., age: 18dy, sex: M, race: W,

died Mar 1850, length of illness: 4d.

Huson, William, age: 25y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

tailor, died Sept 1849, CAUSE: pleurisy, length

of illness: 6d.

Huson, John, age: 17y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

tailor, died Mar 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy, length

of illness: 2d.

Huson, Thomas, age: 3y, sex: M, race: W, died Mar

1850, length of illness: 3d.

Thornton, Sterling, age: 3m, sex: M, race: W, died

Dec 1849, CAUSE: croup, length of illness: 3d.

Norton, Elizabeth, age: 70y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

died Mar 1850, length of illness: 14d.

Wright, Nancy, age: 65y, sex: F, race: W, MS: W,

OCC: housewife, died Dec 1849, CAUSE:

dropsy, length of illness: long.

Montague, Lucy L., age: 2y, sex: F, race: W, died

Nov 1849, CAUSE: bilious fever, length of

illness: 2d.

Drummond, Elizabeth, age: 50y, sex: F, race: M/F,

died Dec 1849, length of illness: long.

Drummond, Matilda T., age: 16y, sex: F, race: M/F,

OCC: seamstress, died Mar 1850, CAUSE:

consumption, length of illness: 30d.

Morris, Carry, age: 13y, sex: M, race: B/F, OCC:

laborer, died May 1850, CAUSE: fits, length of

illness: 1d.

Gouldman, William, age: 33y, sex: M, race: B/F,

OCC: laborer, died Feb 1850, CAUSE: pleurisy,

length of illness: 14d.

Morris, Margaret A., age: 4m, sex: F, race: M/F,

died Mar 1850, length of illness: sudden.

Berry, Elizabeth, age: 4y, sex: F, race: B/F, died

Oct 1849, CAUSE: bilious fever, length of

illness: 4d.

Morris, George, age: 26y, sex: M, race: M/F, OCC:

oysterman, died May 1850, CAUSE: cholera,

length of illness: 10d.

Gloucester Mortality Schedule Taken with 1850 Census

Vol. 7, No. 1 47 June 2003

Wroten, Elizabeth, age: 37y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M,

died June 1849, length of illness: 15d.

Bramble, Catharine, age: 40y, sex: F, race: W, MS:

M, died July 1849, CAUSE: pneumonia, length

of illness: 6d.

Aharan, Richard T., age: 1dy, sex: M, race: W, died

Nov 1849, length of illness: sudden.

Deale, James, age: 30y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: fisherman, died Dec 1849, CAUSE:

dysentery, length of illness: 30d.

Massy, Robert, age: 39y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: farmer, died Dec 1849, length of illness:

1d.

Dutton, Wiley S., age: 24y, sex: M, race: W, OCC:

farmer, died Aug 1849, CAUSE: diarrhea,

length of illness: 30d.

Groom, Samuel, age: 97y, sex: M, race: W, MS: W,

OCC: farmer, died Mar 1850, CAUSE:

pneumonia, length of illness: 12d.

Pitts, ?, age: 34y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M, died Dec

1849, CAUSE: consumption, length of illness:

40d.

Bristow, John H., age: 1y, sex: M, race: W, died Oct

1849, length of illness: 4d.

Flemming, Thomas?, age: 39y, sex: M, race: W, MS:

M, OCC: farmer, died Dec 1849, CAUSE:

pleurisy, length of illness: 12d.

Flemming, Maria Ann, age: 6y, sex: F, race: W,

died Feb 1850, length of illness: 8d.

Jenkins, Grace, age: 5m, sex: M, race: W, died July

1849, CAUSE: dysentery, length of illness: 7d.

Deale, Jarvis, age: 40y, sex: M, race: W, MS: M,

OCC: farmer, died Oct 1849, CAUSE:

dysentery, length of illness: 3d.

Hogg, Jane A., age: 81y, sex: F, race: W, died Sept

1849, CAUSE: dropsy, length of illness: 6d.

Teagle, Penelope, age: 5m, sex: F, race: W, died

June 1849, length of illness: 7d.

Acra, Susan, age: 22y, sex: F, race: W, MS: M, died

Dec 1849, CAUSE: sore throat, length of

illness: 14d.

Gloucester Mortality Schedule Taken with 1850 Census

GGSV Board for 2003 standing from l to r: Roger C. Davis, president; Robert W.

Plummer, treasurer; Harry Jordon, member-at-large; Martha T. Morton, secretary;

seated from l to r: Theresa Denby, historian; Roane Hunt, past-president; Philip

M. Morton, vice-president.

Vol. 7, No. 1 48 June 2003

Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia

Images from past meetings…

…for our distant members.

Harriet Cowen contributed to our

December 1999 issue

Ben Borden was our speaker at

our September1999 meeting

Clyde H. Ratcliffe spoke to our

Society May 22, 2000

Walter and Joan Stubbs enjoy

Phyllis Hunt’s refreshments