Namesake for William Reynolds Burnett?

While researching the Burnetts of Hanover County, Virginia, the name William Reynolds Burnett came up repeatedly.  Apparently, William took his middle name of "Reynolds" very seriously as he is referred to in full Christian name in many early records.  The first entry of his full name is in the 1739 St. Paul's Parish procession record for Precinct 19.  In the same precinct, Abraham Burnett was also listed but with no middle name or initial.  In fact, most of the Burnetts in the extant Hanover County, Virginia records were recorded with only a first and last name.  Occasionally, a middle initial would be used to differentiate Burnett men with the same first name.  But rarely was the full middle name used with such emphasis; William Reynolds Burnett.  Below is an example of Burnett's full name copied from the 1763 Hanover County Quit Rent Roll (transcribed) showing that he paid his land tax for 100 acres to the King of England.


Each time I came across the name of William Reynolds Burnett, I asked myself, "Why the repeated emphasis on his middle name of Reynolds?"  Giving a mother's maiden name as a middle name to her children was a common practice in 18th century Virginia.  Was his mother a Reynolds?  Possibly.  But something about the repeated use of "Reynolds" as a middle name just seemed more than the passing on of a family name.  That's when it came to me that the name emphasis might not be on Reynolds alone.  Rather, William Reynolds Burnett may have been named after a man held in high esteem by the Burnett family who was named William Reynolds.  So, I began searching the early Hanover County records for a William Reynolds.  It didn't take long to find him, or to delve into the William Reynolds rabbit hole.  Essentially, there were two William Reynolds in Hanover County during the 18th century.

William Reynolds of Early 18th Century Hanover County
The Reynolds and Burnett families have a long history of owning land near one another in the portion of New Kent County that later became lower Hanover County.  According to the St. Paul's Parish procession records, William and Thomas Reynolds owned land in the same precinct and vicinity as the Horsley Mill Pond on Matadequin Creek as early as 1708.  This would mean that both Thomas and William Reynolds were born 1687 or earlier.  The Burnett family also owned land in this area.

1731/32 was the last procession year that William Reynolds showed up in the St. Paul's Parish vestry record.  His name, as well as the surrounding land owners in the precinct, are shown in the below return:
St. Paul's Parish Vestry Record, page 282
Eight years later, 1739, William Reynolds' name is missing from the St. Paul's parish procession record.  However, the name William Reynolds Burnett is mentioned for the first time in the same precinct that William Reynolds had been listed as an interested property owner, along with Abraham Burnett as shown below.
St. Paul's Parish Vestry Record, page 299
William Reynolds of Late 18th Century Hanover County
The next appearance of the name William Reynolds shows up in the 1787 Hanover County land tax record.  William Reynolds was taxed for 400 acres located in St. Paul's Parish (below).  In that same year, William Reynolds was assessed a personal property tax in Hanover County for 8 head of cattle - but he was not taxed a poll tax. The combined 1787 land and personal property tax information implies that William Reynolds owned land and personal property in Hanover County but didn't live there.
1787 St. Paul's Parish Hanover County VA Land Tax Record
We don't know how or when Reynolds obtained these 400 acres.  But we do know that in June of 1787, Reynolds purchased a water mill and two acres from Patrick Coutts.  According to the recorded deed for the purchase, the mill had been previously owned by John Timberlake.  It is also from this 1787 deed that we learn that William Reynolds lived in "Richmond City" which is consistent with the personal property tax information.
1783 - 1792 Hanover County VA Deeds page 250
In the 1793 St. Paul's Parish land tax record, Reynolds' 400 acres and 2 acres were combined into one taxable tract of 402 acres.  Typically, tracts of land were combined in the land tax record when they were adjacent to one another. 

William Reynolds continued to obtain more tracts of land in Hanover County over the next few years.  In 1793, 200 acres were conveyed from Abraham Cutlass.  Then, in 1795 Reynolds purchased 469 acres that had formerly belonged to John Garland, from Thomas Starke.  And finally, in the 1798 Hanover County land tax record (shown below), Reynolds acquired another 200 acre tract, but no note is made on the entry as to who the acreage was obtained from.  If you add the four tracts together, William Reynolds was taxed for a whopping 1,271.5 acres in 1798!
1798 Hanover County VA Land Tax Record
After 1798, William Reynolds disappears from the Hanover County personal property tax list but continues to be taxed for his four tracts of land.  So, he apparently continued to hold his lands but kept no personal property on them.  Then in 1801, Reynolds divided the 402 acres tract and sold 281 acres to a William McCaul.  This left Reynolds with a total of 990.5 acres.  Then in 1805, the four tracts were taxed as part of the William Reynolds estate.  Presumably, Reynolds died sometime in 1804/05.

In 1813, the William Reynolds' estate was still being taxed for 990.5 acres (see below).  The only change was that the total acreage had been recombined to form three tracts instead of four.  The 121 acre tract and the 469.5 acre tract were formed into one larger tract of 590.5 acres.
1813 St. Paul's Parish Hanover County VA Land Tax Record
Notice that the two 200 acre tracts were also near one another - if not adjacent.  Both were were listed as being adjacent to "John Pate and others".  The larger tract of 590.5 acres was listed as being adjacent to land belonging to Charles Talley Jr.  But then, the 1814 land tax records paints a little different picture (below).
1814 St. Paul's Parish Hanover County VA Land Tax Record
The 1814 land tax record provides a more detailed description of the location of William Reynolds' lands.  The 590.5 acre tract and the two 200 acre tracts were near one another as they were all three adjacent to Charles Talley Sr. (1813 stated Jr) and William Pate's estate lands (1813 stated John Pate) on Matadequin Creek.  And note that all three tracts were estimated to be located 15 miles southeast of the Hanover County courthouse.

Summary
We don't really know when William Reynolds Burnett was born.  But we do know that in 1739 he was listed as an interested land owner in the St. Paul's Parish procession records.  That entry provides Burnett with a birth year of 1718 or earlier.  Since his parents were looking for naming inspiration at about that time, it seems most reasonable that William Reynolds of early 18th century Hanover County was the name sake for William Reynolds Burnett.  Why?  Well, that's the $1,000,000 question.  If you know the answer, this researcher would love to hear from you!

copyright©2020 Deborah Thurman Parks

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