Whence I Came

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 acro...

The men and women who settled in early Hanover County were an adventurous breed.  Life was full of challenges, as well as opportunities.  Neighbors were indispensable and often times became kin through the marriage of children.  One such marriage was the union between John R. Thurman and Judith Hooper. Thurmans and Hoopers The Thurmans and Hoopers lived in an area of Hanover County that fell within the boundaries of St. Paul's Parish.  Although the parish was connected to the Church of England and provided worship services for the parish's inhabitants, the parish was also charged with many civil duties, such as holding regular land processions to maintain an ongoing record of ever changing property boundaries.  It is from one such procession record that we learn the Thurman and Hooper families lived near, if not adjacent, to one another. The Thurman family had been processioning land in the same area of St. Paul's Parish, with the same surrounding land own...

Did Littleberry Wade Jr. die after Littleberry Wade Sr. as suggested by the St. Paul's Parish personal property tax transcription ?  It makes logical sense that a senior would pass before a junior, but can we verify the sequence of their life events?  Dates inscribed upon their tombstones would be very helpful, but their grave sites have not been located.  And given that Hanover County lost so many historical records during the Civil War, there are few extant records.  What may help in this quest are the St. Paul's Parish land tax records which extend from 1782 forward in time, just like the transcribed personal tax list.  An analysis of these land tax records may be helpful in verifying when the two men died.  Let's begin by taking a detailed look at Littleberry Wade Jr's land tax information. Littleberry Wade Jr. The first known land record for Littleberry Wade Jr. is shown below.  The snippet shows all the land owners who were enumerated in St...

For years, maybe even for over a decade, I thought Littleberry Wade Sr. died in 1804.  After all, why wouldn't I think that?  The St. Paul's Parish personal property tax list indicates that Littleberry Wade Sr. was no longer taxed for being a free male above the age of twenty one, or as owning any taxable personal property as shown in the below transcription.  It would appear that he had died in 1804. Hanover County Taxpayers Saint Paul's Parish transcribed by William Ronald Cocke, III Other interesting information gleaned from the personal property tax transcription is that minors Hampton and Robert Wade were both listed as having lived with Littleberry Wade.  We know from the below snippet image from the Daughters of the American Revolution transcribed version of the Robert Waid (Wade) Bible that Robert's father was Berry Wade.  So, perhaps Hampton Wade was also a son. Bible Record of Robert Waid (Wade) Family of Hanover County, Virginia DAR Gene...

Although the Stone family had a surprising connection to the Barrett White estate , another piece of Stone/White wonder was uncovered with a little more record digging. While searching for deeds involving the Stone family in Henrico County, the below record surfaced.  In 1771, Thomas Stone (brother to William Stone) purchased 65 acres in Henrico County from John Robinson of Orange County, North Carolina.  According to the below deed, John Robinson was the son of Thomas Robinson, and the description of the land included mention of a creek and branches, but unfortunately, the name of the creek and branches were not provided.  However, previously, we learned that part of Thomas Stone's land included 100 acres on Gilleys Creek .  So, it is very possible that the 65 acres mentioned in the below deed were also in the same area.  The Robinson to Stone deed begins halfway down the page. Henrico County VA Deed Book 1767-1774 pages 387-388 Look who witn...

We already learned that William Stone's widow, Lucy, remarried to John White .  Their marriage took place about three years after Stone's death.  Their domestic life together comes alive on the below, third page of William Stone's estate settlement. Entries for Mr. and Mrs. White began just three months after their marriage in August 1784 and included: November 1, 1784 "To an order on Robert Gilbert in favor of Mrs. White" £5.0 January 18, 1785 "To ditto Joseph Binns for work done upon Mr. White's house" £2.18 January 20, 1785 "To 759 # pork for the use of Mrs. White's family" £8.13 April 12, 1785 "To ditto paid Lucy White for the use of her family" £3.3 January 25, 1786 "To ditto received by Mr. White for a still" £18.4 Henrico County VA Vol 2 Page 143 William Stone's Estate Settlement But the really SURPRISING White surname entry in William Stone's estate settlement is shown in the below image. ...

What a BIG SURPRISE it was to learn that the Lucy Stone who married John White in 1784 Henrico County was the widow of William Stone!  Of course, this new information prompted lots of new questions and curiosity.  In hopes of finding more pieces to the Stone/White puzzle, I turned to William Stone's estate settlement.  I was not disappointed. On April 10, 1781, one of Stone's executors, Smith Blakey, began an accounting for Stone's estate settlement which continued for nine more years.  In all, Stone's estate settlement is comprised of 5 pages which provide a bounty of information.  The first page (shown below) is so rich in material to be analyzed for genealogical purposes that it will be the focus of this entry.  Some of the names and entries from this page are addressed below to help provide a broader image of the Stone's family circle of acquaintances. Henrico County VA Wills and Settlements Vol 2 page 142 Lucy Stone William Stone did not leav...