John White and Lucy Stone of Henrico County Virginia
On August 10, 1784, the below bond for marriage between John White and Lucy Stone was posted in Henrico County. The books containing information on Henrico County marriages had variations on Lucy's first and last name. So, I asked my research friend, Welford Jones, to retrieve a copy of the original bond during his next visit to the Library of Virginia. Welford came through! The bond tells us that a marriage between John White and Lucy Stone was planned, but not that one actually took place. In addition, the bond identifies a Jacob Lockett as being close to the couple, as he was willing to sign the obligation and post money for their marriage license.
Unfortunately, the date of the bond is only provided one time and as you can see, it is at the location of a fold, blurred over time. This helps explain why some of the transcriptions for this bond listed the marriage in 1784 and others in 1786.
Assuming that John White and Lucy Stone did marry, I conducted a search for them online and came up empty handed. It was amazing how I could find nothing about them. Since I was very curious about this couple (for reasons that will be divulged later), I then scoured all of my White files for Henrico County to see if I had any evidence to suggest that the marriage actually occurred. And what do you know? Just when I was about to give up, I came across the below 1790 Henrico County deed which provided the evidence that John White and Lucy Stone did marry. Goes to show that we have to revisit records that we've put away or saved for later. As new information is found, those once meaningless records become the key to unlocking new doors.
On the first page of the deed, we are given the evidence that John White and Lucy Stone did indeed marry. And we learn how John and Lucy came into possession of the land.
"...Witness that whereas under and by the last will and testament of William Stone formerly of the said County of Henrico deceased, the aforesaid Lucy being entitled to a certain tract or parcel lying and being in the said County containing by estimation about one hundred acres more or less, for and during the term of her natural life, which will more fully appear by the said will bearing date the 21st day of March 1781 now among the records of the Court of the said County of Henrico reference being thereunto laid"
The deed went on to describe the land as:
"...lying on Gilley's Creek and adjoining the lands of Robert Gilbert deceased and Isham Freeman (being the same tract of land purchased by the said William Stone in his life time of one Thomas Stone)..."
I looked for over an hour at the Henrico County wills and probate records and was unable to find the will of William Stone. So, then I searched the public member trees on Ancestry and found the MAPARKS60 tree. This researcher (who I have contacted and am hoping to hear back from) had William Stone 1731 - 1781 married to a Lucy Lockett! Remember, a Jacob Lockett signed the marriage bond above for John White and Lucy Stone. Below is the 1767 Cumberland County marriage record for William Stone and Lucy Locket (Virginia Marriages; from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly).
According to MAPARKS60, Lucy Lockett Stone was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Judith (Townes) Lockett who were supposedly both dead by 1782. But guess what? Lucy Lockett had a brother named Jacob Lockett; Lucy Stone's maternal uncle. Jacob Lockett (1754 - 1846) served as Lucy's representative in the marriage bond since both of her parents were dead in 1784.
OK, so we've proven that John White and Lucy Stone did marry and they lived in Henrico County for a period. The next blog entry explores more about their lives.
Unfortunately, the date of the bond is only provided one time and as you can see, it is at the location of a fold, blurred over time. This helps explain why some of the transcriptions for this bond listed the marriage in 1784 and others in 1786.
Assuming that John White and Lucy Stone did marry, I conducted a search for them online and came up empty handed. It was amazing how I could find nothing about them. Since I was very curious about this couple (for reasons that will be divulged later), I then scoured all of my White files for Henrico County to see if I had any evidence to suggest that the marriage actually occurred. And what do you know? Just when I was about to give up, I came across the below 1790 Henrico County deed which provided the evidence that John White and Lucy Stone did marry. Goes to show that we have to revisit records that we've put away or saved for later. As new information is found, those once meaningless records become the key to unlocking new doors.
On the first page of the deed, we are given the evidence that John White and Lucy Stone did indeed marry. And we learn how John and Lucy came into possession of the land.
"...Witness that whereas under and by the last will and testament of William Stone formerly of the said County of Henrico deceased, the aforesaid Lucy being entitled to a certain tract or parcel lying and being in the said County containing by estimation about one hundred acres more or less, for and during the term of her natural life, which will more fully appear by the said will bearing date the 21st day of March 1781 now among the records of the Court of the said County of Henrico reference being thereunto laid"
The deed went on to describe the land as:
"...lying on Gilley's Creek and adjoining the lands of Robert Gilbert deceased and Isham Freeman (being the same tract of land purchased by the said William Stone in his life time of one Thomas Stone)..."
I looked for over an hour at the Henrico County wills and probate records and was unable to find the will of William Stone. So, then I searched the public member trees on Ancestry and found the MAPARKS60 tree. This researcher (who I have contacted and am hoping to hear back from) had William Stone 1731 - 1781 married to a Lucy Lockett! Remember, a Jacob Lockett signed the marriage bond above for John White and Lucy Stone. Below is the 1767 Cumberland County marriage record for William Stone and Lucy Locket (Virginia Marriages; from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly).
According to MAPARKS60, Lucy Lockett Stone was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Judith (Townes) Lockett who were supposedly both dead by 1782. But guess what? Lucy Lockett had a brother named Jacob Lockett; Lucy Stone's maternal uncle. Jacob Lockett (1754 - 1846) served as Lucy's representative in the marriage bond since both of her parents were dead in 1784.
OK, so we've proven that John White and Lucy Stone did marry and they lived in Henrico County for a period. The next blog entry explores more about their lives.
copyright©2019 Deborah Thurman Parks
