Whence I Came

 How is it possible that John White of early King William County had TWO men that referred to him as "... my well beloved son in law John White..."? The answer lies in a change of meaning over time for the term "son in law". Michelle Norris a historian, researcher, and author wrote an article on this very subject entitled The Language of Colonial Relationships . In a nutshell, Norris informs us that we can't always apply 21st century terms when analyzing American colonial documents. Norris references Val D. Greenwood's book The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy in which Greenwood dedicated a section on "Evolution of the Language".  Specifically, Greenwood stated: In earlier times people often stated that an in-law connection existed when there was actually a step relationship. Any relationships created by legal means, including step relationships, were often identified simply as "in-law". This understanding helps us see that J...

Three years after Elizabeth White became of age and acknowledged her right in the previously discussed deed , John White had a new wife named Mary. On January 21, 1705, both Joseph Brown ( also of the 1702 deed involving Elizabeth ) and Thomas Ellet signed deeds of gift to the couple. These two deeds of gift provide us with information about all the parties relationships to one another.  The first deed of trust was issued by Thomas Ellet who gave John and Mary White 150 acres of land plus five head of cattle. Ellet refers to the five cattle as, "... called by the name of daughter Mary's cattell...". Ellet also refers to John White as "... my well beloved son in law...". Ellet's deed of gift tells us that by January 21, 1705: 1.      John White was no longer married to Elizabeth, but to Mary 2.      Thomas Ellet, was "of" King William County, the father of Mary, and father-in-law to John White 3.      John and Mary White were gifted ...

There are a number of books and old genealogies which connect John White of early King William County as the ancestor of the Hanover County White family. These same books and genealogies also state that this John White was the ancestor to the White family of early Albemarle County. But this cannot be true as the two White families of Hanover and Albemarle Counties are genetically different based upon YDNA testing.  Placing books and old genealogies aside, it is time to dig into the original documents for John White of early King William County (hereafter just referred to as John White). The earliest records that this researcher could find pertain to his two wives - YES, TWO WIVES! So, for this entry, we will focus on the documentation for his first known wife, Elizabeth.   Disappointingly, in 1885 there was a fire at the King William County courthouse and many of the original records were burned. Fortunately some pages from the earliest deed books were saved and one such ...

The Anderson Land Patent for Goldmine The Andersons are one of those prolific families of which you'll find connections to in just about every other family in early Hanover County. They also owned land all over Hanover County, within both St. Paul's and St. Martin's Parishes. One particular location in which they lived, and are probably most known for, is the Anderson plantation located at Goldmine Creek. In fact, back in 1913 Edward Lowell Anderson published a book entitled The Andersons of Gold Mine, Hanover County, Virginia. Interestingly, Edward Lowell Anderson stated in his book that he was unable to find the origin of the land. But an expanded inspection of one particular Anderson land patent gives the location away. The land for the Goldmine plantation appears to have been issued in a 1723 land patent of 400 acres granted to Robert Anderson of Hanover County and Charles Anderson of King William County for the sum of 40 shillings, The patent can be viewed on the  Li...