John BURNETT or John BARNETT?
Did John and Elizabeth Burnett of 1695 New Kent County ever live in St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia? Many researchers believe they did. But where is the evidence for this claim? Researchers refer to two documents to support the claim that John Burnett of 1695 New Kent lived in early St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County. Let's take a look at the evidence.
1677 Blisland Parish Grievance
In 1677, the Crown sent to Virginia representatives to investigate the state of affairs as a follow up to Bacon's Rebellion the previous year. When the Crown's representatives arrived, they let it be known that they would receive written grievances that were signed and sworn to by inhabitants. One such written grievance was submitted by men of Blisland Parish, New Kent County. The Blisland Grievance was dated April 2, 1677 and listed a number of oppressions under Governor Sir William Berkeley including high taxes, Native American depravations and murders, the exactions of sheriffs, the sale of strong drink during court days, and duties levied on ships. The concern was so great that almost 90 men of Blisland Parish (the frontier at that time) signed the Grievance. Many researchers claim that John Burnett of 1695 New Kent County was one of those who signed his name. Let's take a look.
The original 1677 Blisland Parish Grievance is held at the British National Archives. In absence of being able to view the original document, an image of the Grievance was included by Churchill Gibson Chamberlayne in his book Vestry Book of Blisland (Blissland) Parish, New Kent and James City Counties, Virginia 1721 - 1786. Was John Burnett of 1695 New Kent County one of the signers of the Grievance? Below, at the top of the image, is the signature that many believe to be that of John Burnett.
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| 1677 Blisland Parish Grievance Signatures |
In his book, Chamberlayne transcribed this name as John BARNETT and included this note:
In a patent dated September 4, 1670 (and recorded on p. 77 of Patent Book No. 6 in the Virginia Land Office) to 1900 acres in "Pamunkey Necke", there occurs, in the list of persons on account of whose transportation into Virginia the land was granted, the name of Wm Barnett.
Below John BARNETT'S name is John Vaughan. And below Vaughan's signature is the name Gregory BARNETT. Chamberlayne includes the same note for Gregory BARNETT as he did for John BARNETT.
Did John BURNETT of 1695 New Kent County sign the 1677 Blisland Parish Grievance? The evidence does not support that claim.
1708/09 St. Paul's Parish Procession Record
Since Blissland Parish (formed about 1653) was the parent of St. Peter's Parish (formed 1679), and St. Peter's Parish was the parent of St. Paul's Parish (formed 1704), several of the signers of the Grievance were living in St. Paul's Parish during the parish's early land processions. The researchers who claim that John BURNETT was a signer of the 1677 Blisland Parish Grievance also believe that the same John BURNETT was living in St. Paul's Parish during the 1708/09 parish procession record.
The St. Paul's parish vestry ordered a processioning of lands every four years to help avoid property line disputes. We know this because of the scholarly effort of Chamberlayne who "discovered" the vestry book while conducting research at the Alexandria Theological Seminary in 1907. He transcribed the book, and as a true historian, Chamberlayne spelled all names of people and places as they were originally written. Below is the transcription of page 217 of Chamberlayne's The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish of Hanover County, Virginia 1706-1786 which includes Precinct 27 of which some claim was transcribed incorrectly.
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| from The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish of Hanover County, Virginia 1706-1786 |
Chamberlayne made a distinction in this single precinct between the names of John BARNET and Edward BURNET. John BARNET was an interested landowner in precinct 27. Whereas Edward BURNET was someone from the area who assisted with the procession. It is important to remember that the original recording of Precinct 27 was most likely written by either Amor Viah or George Turner. Whether it ws Viah or Turner, they were clearly familiar with both John BARNET and Edward BURNET and recorded the names differently. And then Chamberlayne transcribed their recording exactly as he saw the spelling.
